"International court authority reflects the aspirations and achievements of iCourts: The Danish National Research Foundation's Centre of Excellence for International Courts."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

I. The varied authority of international courts -- International court authority in a complex world / Karen J. Alter, Laurence R. Helfer, and Mikael Rask Madsen -- How context shapes the authority of international courts / Karen J. Alter, Laurence R. Helfer, and Mikael Rask Madsen -- II. International courts in their social and political context : Africa -- The East African Court of Justice : human rights and business actors compared / James Thuo Gathii -- The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice : a dual mandate with skewed authority / Solomon T. Ebobrah -- The OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration : its authority in the formal and informal economy / Claire Moore Dickerson -- The SADC Tribunal : sociopolitical dissonance and the authority of international courts / E. Tendayi Achiume -- Latin America and the Caribbean -- The Caribbean Court of Justice : a regional integration and postcolonial court / Salvatore Caserta and Mikael Rask Madsen -- The Andean Tribunal of Justice : from Washington consensus to regional crisis / Karen J. Alter and Laurence R. Helfer -- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights : how constitutional lawyers shape court authority / Alexandra Huneeus -- Europe -- The Court of Justice of the European Union : changing authority in the twenty-first century / R. Daniel Kelemen -- The European Court of Human Rights : from the Cold War to the Brighton Declaration and backlash / Mikael Rask Madsen -- Courts with a global reach -- The International Court of Justice and Islamic law states : territory and diplomatic immunity / Emilia Justyna Powell -- The World Trade Organization's dispute settlement body : its extensive but fragile authority / Gregory Shaffer, Manfred Elsig, and Sergio Puig -- The International Criminal Court : the paradox of its authority / Leslie Vinjamuri -- International criminal tribunals : prosecutorial strategies in atypical political environments / Ron Levi, John Hagan, and Sara Dezalay -- III. International court authority in question -- International court authority in question : introduction to Part III / Karen J. Alter, Laurence R. Helfer, Mikael Rask Madsen -- Authority of international courts : scope, power, and legitimacy / Andrei Marmor -- International courts : command v. reflexive authority / Michael Z�urn -- International courts' de facto authority and its justification / Ingo Venzke -- Jurisdiction, politics, and truth-making : international courts and the formation of translocal legal cultures / Jessica Greenberg -- Power or authority : actions or beliefs / Andreas F�llesdal -- Authority and international courts : a comment on "content-independent" social science / Ian Hurd -- IV. Growing and diminishing IC authority -- Conclusion : Context, authority, power / Karen J. Alter, Laurence R. Helfer and Mikael Rask Madsen.

International Court Authority challenges fundamental preconceptions about when, why, and how international courts become important and authoritative actors in national, regional and international politics. Examining global and regional bodies, this volume investigates how political and social contexts shape the authority of international courts.