Handle with Care: Judicial Review Procedures of International Judgments and Awards

Placed on the background since the origins of international adjudication, challenge and judicial review procedures (such as annulment and appeal) of international judgments and awards turned out to play a crucial role in the contemporary discourses concerning the crisis and the reform of international courts and tribunals. Drawing from the experience of the current crisis of the WTO dispute settlement system and the attempts at reforming investment arbitration, this chapter shows how recent trends relating to judicial review procedures on the international law plane provide an interesting lens to explore the trajectories of international adjudication over time. Following a general overview of the structure, functions and politics of judicial review procedures (Sec. 2), the chapter focuses on the two cases of appeal in the WTO dispute settlement system and annulment in investment arbitration, discussing the problematic evolution of these procedures (Sec. 3 and 4). These two case studies are used to draw general considerations on the controversial role and implications of judicial review mechanisms, when considered in the context of international adjudication (Sec. 5).