Working Papers The Proliferation of International Judicial Bodies: The Pieces of the Puzzle By: Cesare P.R. Romano The end of the twentieth century has witnessed an unprecedented expansion of international judicial bodies, both quantitatively and qualitatively. On this basis, Mr Romano advocates a view of "international judicial law and organization" as a discipline in its own right, which does not need to be subsumed under the general category of "Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes." The author moves from the test that provides the very definition of an "international judicial institution"- i.e. independence, establishment by an international legal instrument, use of international law to decide the cases submitted to them, fixed rules of procedure, outcome of the process legally binding, selection of the judges, sovereign powers of the parties to the dispute - to group the diverse and usually unrelated judicial bodies into a given set of categories. In doing so, he also includes in his analysis, in addition to the relatively limited number of international institutions that meet the above-mentioned criteria, the surprisingly large archipelago of committees, commissions, tribunals, panels, etc. lacking one or more of those characteristics while being nonetheless heavily involved in the enforcement, interpretation and implementation of international law. The reasons of the "flourishing" of these judicial bodies are also explored, ranging from the expansion of international law into domains previously far from its reach, to the end of bi-polarism and the advent of multi-lateralism in international relations, to the emergence of free-trade doctrines as the only plausible way to viable economic development. Finally, the article addresses two crucial issues in the current panorama of international judicial law: the multiplication of Regional Economic Integration Agreements and the emergence of non-state entities as parties to disputes. Download a PDF of the entire paper