Political Contestation in International and Regional Courts

Abstract

This panel explores the contested authority of international and regional courts. The papers analyse how courts exercise power, build legitimacy, and interact with states, executives, and civil society under conditions of political resistance and institutional constraint. The panel addresses how judicial authority is shaped by strategic litigation, executive pushback, geopolitical concerns, and varying opportunity structures for legal mobilisation. It explores courts embedded in complex governance systems, whose effectiveness depends on alliances, credibility, and their capacity to navigate contested sovereignty.

Title	Details
Analysing the Validity of African Concerns About the International Criminal Court: Implications for International Criminal Law	View Paper Details
Variance in Civil Society Organisations’ Litigation Strategies in the EU: Internal and External Constraints and Opportunity Structures	View Paper Details
Courts and Their Allies in Transnational Judicial Protection of Rights in the EAC	View Paper Details
Judicial Independence Under Contestation: Courts Power, and EU Enlargement	View Paper Details
Credible Commitments? Judicial Power and Executive Resistance in the Offshoring of Asylum in Europe	View Paper Details