Judges and Unilateral Denunciation

Abstract

Although judges, international or national, are not authorised or expected to legislate or create new rules binding upon states in their mutual relationships, they nonetheless in and through their interpretive or declaratory functions greatly contribute to the determination and development of international law. Their decisions and pronouncements constitute the repository of legal wisdom which has traditionally proven to be a highly useful source of international law. An individual judicial precedent or opinion may serve to illustrate a principle of international law but a collective wisdom of the judges on a point of international law tends to confirm the common sentiment or consensus of the nations of the world and infuse a sense of certainty and stability in international legal relationships.