He international legal system in the face of non-compliance with the decisions of its courts: a comparative analysis

Abstract

As a result of the essentially decentralised nature of the international legal system, compliance with the decisions of international courts is achieved through the agreement and cooperation of the States parties to the dispute brought before the court. However, in the contemporary international legal system, there have been legal and institutional developments aimed at ensuring compliance with the decisions of courts and tribunals and, ultimately, at enforcing the principle of the rule of law at the international level. This paper examines these developments in relation to three courts: the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. Despite all the difficulties affecting the enforcement of their decisions —always in the context of a fundamentally decentralised legal system—, it must be recognised that these three courts carry out highly commendable work in defending the very existence of the international legal order; that is, that there is a system of international legal norms agreed upon by States and which must be respected by them, including, of course, when they are interpreted and applied in a specific case by a court.