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Backlash against international courts: explaining the forms and patterns of resistance to international courts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2018

Mikael Rask Madsen ,
Pola Cebulak  and
Micha Wiebusch
Mikael Rask Madsen*
Affiliation:
Professor of Law and European Integration, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, and Director of iCourts, The Danish National Research Foundation's Centre of Excellence for International Courts
Pola Cebulak
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor in European Law, University of Amsterdam and formerly Postdoc at iCourts, University of Copenhagen
Micha Wiebusch
Affiliation:
Researcher (PhD) at SOAS, University of London and IOB, University of Antwerp, and Associate Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: mikael.madsen@jur.ku.dk
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Abstract

The paper investigates and theorises different forms and patterns of resistance to international courts (ICs) and develops an analytical framework for explaining their variability. In order to make intelligible the resistance that many ICs are currently facing, the paper first unpacks the concept of resistance. It then introduces a key distinction between mere pushback from individual Member States or other actors, seeking to influence the future direction of a court's case-law, and actual backlash – a critique triggering significant institutional reform or even the dismantling of tribunals. On the basis on the proposed theoretical framework, the paper provides a roadmap for empirical studies of resistance to ICs, considering the key contextual factors necessary to take into account in such studies.

Keywords

international courts and tribunalsinstitutional reformauthorityresistanceempirical legal studiesglobalisation
Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 14 , Special Issue 2: Resistance to International Courts , June 2018 , pp. 197 - 220
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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