Central American Court of Justice
The Central American Court of Justice ( Spanish: Corte Centroamericana de Justicia ) is an international court based in Managua , the capital of Nicaragua . It originally existed from 1907 until its dissolution in 1918, making it the first international court in legal history . In its current form, the Court was re-established in 1962 and placed on a new treaty basis in 1991. Contracting states to the court are Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua and Panama .Belize also has observer status. The Central American Court of Justice is one of the three community organs of the Central American Integration System (SICA) alongside the Central American Parliament and the General Secretariat .
history
The original Central American Court of Justice was created as part of the Central American Peace Conference, which took place in Washington from November 14 to December 20, 1907 . The creation of the court was part of the peace treaty signed on December 20, 1907 . From February to March 1908, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala ratified the agreement creating the Court of Justice. A period of ten years was agreed as the life of the Central American Court of Justice.
The seat of the court was initially the city of Cartago in Costa Rica and from the beginning of 1911 San José , the capital of Costa Rica. The court had a judge from each of the five contracting states. During its existence, ten cases have been heard before the Court, five of which have been brought up by private individuals and dismissed as inadmissible. Three cases result from the court's own initiative. The court was dissolved in April 1918 after Nicaragua announced its withdrawal from the relevant contract in March 1917 and negotiations between the remaining contracting parties on a continuation failed.
It was re-established on December 12, 1962 by amending the charter of the Organization of Central American States that had been established eleven years earlier . A time limit was not agreed, but the court remained inactive for around 30 years. It was only with the creation of the Central American Integration System in 1991 through the signing of the Tegucigalpa Protocol and the subsequent admission of Panama as a member and Belize as an observer that the Court received its current contractual basis and thus gained in importance. The court heard his first case three years later.
Jurisdiction
The main objective in establishing the Central American Court of Justice was to maintain peace in the Central American region and to promote unity and integration between the States parties.
The Court of Justice is responsible for disputes between the contracting states, for cases between a contracting state and another country that recognizes the jurisdiction of the court, as well as for disputes between states or organs of the Central American integration system and natural or legal persons who are nationals of one of the contracting states . The admissibility of actions by natural persons differs from the usual international legal practice, according to which natural persons are generally not legally competent before international courts . In addition, the Court of Justice has an advisory function vis-à-vis the highest courts of the contracting parties and is intended to contribute to the harmonization of the legal systems of the contracting states through comparative studies.
Currently, only El Salvador , Honduras and Nicaragua have ratified the Statute of the Court of Justice and are actively involved in the work of the Court. Costa Rica has so far refused to ratify it, as its statute entitles the court, under certain conditions, to resolve disputes between state institutions of a contracting state upon request. Such a competence of an international institution for domestic questions was declared inadmissible by the constitutional court of the country.
Each State Party is entitled to the appointment of a judge and a substitute judge. The judges are elected for a ten-year term by the highest court in the respective country of origin. The decisions of the Court of Justice cannot be challenged.
literature
- Katrin Nyman Metcalf, Ioannis Papageorgiou: Regional Integration and Courts of Justice. Intersentia, Antwerp 2005, ISBN 9-05-095462-6 , pp. 28–34 ( The History of the Central American Court of Justice ), pp. 40–43 ( The Structure of the Central American Court of Justice ), pp. 55–66 ( The Jurisdiction of the Central American Court of Justice ), pp. 86–106 ( Rulings of the Central American Court of Justice )
- Central American Court of Justice. In: Jackson H. Ralston: International Arbitration from Athens to Locarno. Lawbook Exchange, Clark NJ 2004, ISBN 1-58-477396-0 , pp. 240-245
Web links
- Official Website (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Malcolm Shaw : International Law. Sixth edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 978-0-521-72814-0 , p. 259