Nowadays there is an increasing number of international courts and tribunals, therefore it becomes relevant to study the challenges international judges face with during their work. One of the most important courts at universal level is the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with a well-known historical role in the peaceful settlement of disputes. Judges of the ICJ generally work under political pressure, though the Court has always been declared to be free from any political bias. This paper attempts to examine impartiality and independence of ICJ judges concerning the nomination, selection process and whether we can observe some regional particularism in the procedure of decision-making and voting and if national politics influences the decision-making. However, there is another direction: how international law infiltrates into domestic law and how ICJ decisions affect the region. The paper pays special attention to  Latin American judges, as the region has always actively participated in the work of the ICJ and it is also affected by many of its decisions and through these, Latin America has a historical role in the development of international law. At the same time the paper also attempts to highlight the unique socio-legal nature of public international law since international law is the context where this topic is placed. It is inseparable from the subject matter as, without taking it into consideration, it can lead us to false conclusions.

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The Legitimacy of the International Court of Justice: The World of International Judges with special reference to Latin America

This chapter explores the question as to whether the practice may find its roots in customary international law, drawing on its constituent parts state practice and opinio juris. Both elements will in the first instance be defined, as will the concept of regional custom. This Chapter will look first at state practice from around the world drawing on the research conducted in the context of the Chap. 7 Annex in order to establish whether the state practice element is fulfilled in respect to any of the world regions on a regional level or indeed universally. In this regard, the regions of Latin America and Europe will play a central role owing to the wealth of case examples in this respect. Opinio juris will then be examined in order to ascertain whether a customary practice exists in any of the world regions and indeed whether a universal customary practice exists in favour of diplomatic asylum. In this regard, the region of Latin America will play a central role owing to the wealth of opinio juris emanating from the region.

Customary International Law

In the ages of Duterte and his extrajudicial killing policies, of Aung Sang Suu Kyi and the Rohinya systemic persecution, of Malays rejecting the ratification of International Convention for Eradication of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and other unfortunate events spanning across the region, South East Asia was largely suffering from various grave breaches of human rights violations As the subcontinent umbrella organization, however, ASEAN’s hand has been largely tied when facing the issues pertaining in their region, despite pledging their commitment to establish protection and enactment of human rights law in its continent since 2007 Some experts say that its inability to perform meaningful actions is mainly attributable to its “non-interference policy”, a principle adopted by ASEAN with several unique characteristics that differs its practice with other organization practicing similar belief, mixed with a misguided application of implementation regarding “regional particularism” This paper aims to understand the establishment of such principles’ implementation and how they influence the organization’s approach against violations of human rights happening under its member-states’ governments 
Keywords: Human Rights Violations, Non-Interference, Regional Particularism
 
Abstrak
Pada zaman Duterte dan kebijakan pembunuhan di luar proses hukumnya, Aung Sang Suu Kyi dan penganiayaan sistemik etnik Rohingya, orang-orang Malaysia menolak ratifikasi Konvensi Internasional untuk Pemberantasan Diskriminasi Rasial (ICERD), dan berbagai peristiwa malang lainnya yang terjadi di berbagai daerah, Asia Tenggara menderita berbagai pelanggaran berat hak asasi manusia (HAM) Namun, sebagai organisasi yang memayungi sub-benua, tangan-tangan ASEAN sebagian besar terikat ketika menghadapi masalah-masalah yang berkaitan dengan wilayah mereka, meskipun berjanji untuk membangun perlindungan dan pemberlakuan undang-undang hak asasi manusia di benua itu sejak 2007 Beberapa ahli mengatakan bahwa ketidakmampuannya untuk melakukan tindakan yang berarti terutama disebabkan oleh kebijakan non-intervensi-nya, sebuah prinsip yang diadopsi oleh ASEAN dengan beberapa karakteristik unik yang berbeda praktiknya dengan organisasi lain yang mempraktikkan prinsip serupa, yang kemudian dicampur dengan implementasi “kekhususan regional” yang problematik Artikel ini bertujuan untuk memahami pembentukan implementasi prinsip tersebut dan bagaimana hal itu mempengaruhi pendekatan organisasi terhadap pelanggaran hak asasi manusia yang terjadi di bawah pemerintahan negara-negara anggotanya
Kata Kunci: Kekhususan Regional, Non-Intervensi, Pelanggaran HAM

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Is asean’s practice of non-interference and regional particularism principles a source of hindrance for human rights law enforcement in south east asia?

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Alan T. Leonhard

Papers

Regional Particularism: The Views of the Latin American Judges on the International Court of Justice