Judge Alejandro Álvarez at the International Court of Justice (1946–1955): His Theory of a ‘New International Law’ and Judicial Lawmaking

Leiden Journal of International Law

Volumn 19, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 1017-1040

  Zobel, Katharina ^a  

^a GOETHE UNIVERSITY   (Germany)

Author keywords

Alejandro lvarez; history of international law; individual and dissenting opinions; International Court of Justice; judicial lawmaking; new international law

Indexed keywords

EID: 85010134054     PISSN: 09221565     EISSN: 14789698     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0922156506003736     Document Type: Article

References (102)

1. M. O. Hudson, ‘The Twenty-Fifth Year of the World Court’, (1947) 41 AJIL 1, at 19. For contemporary information about the Court, see S. Rosenne, The International Court of Justice (1957).
2. ‘Elle a ainsi repris et dé veloppé une tradition qui se trouvait amorcé e tant dans la jurisprudence de la Cour permanente que dans la jurisprudence arbitrale posté rieure à 1920. Atous é gards, l'é tude de sa jurisprudence ré vè le une hardiesse accrue du juge international.’ S. Bastid, ‘La jurisprudence de la Cour Internationale de Justice’, (1951) 78 Recueil des Cours 579, at 583.
3. Speech of PresidentGuerrero, in the Yearbook of the International Court of Justice (1946/7), 27; brief biographical information about Guerrero at 42.
4. In 1954 the Institut de droit international intended to recommend an age limit, and also a maximum term of 15 years, to rejuvenate the Court. As to the age limit, they could not reach agreement. See Annuaire de l'Institut de droit international (1954), vol. 1, 424.
5. F. Gamboa Serazzi, Alejandro Álvarez-su vida, su obra (1954), 22.
6. For biographical information about Álvarez see de La Pradelle, ‘Elle a ainsi repris et dé veloppé une tradition qui se trouvait amorcé e tant dans la jurisprudence de la Cour permanente que dans la jurisprudence arbitrale posté rieure à 1920. note 6; Yearbook of the International Court of Justice (1946/7), 43-4,,423-40; M. C. Parra-Pé rez, Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Alejandro Álvarez (1962); H. Wehberg, ‘Alejandro Álvarez 70 Jahre alt, (1938) Die Friedens-Warte 41; Wehberg, ‘Alejandro Álvarez 80 Jahre alt’, (1948) Die Friedens-Warte 60; C. Castro-Ruiz, ‘Prefacio’, in A. Álvarez, La reconstruccio’ n del derecho de gentes (1944); R. J. Alfaro, ‘Notices né crologiques” Alejandro Álvarez’, Annuaire de l'Institut de droit international 1961, vol. 2, 484; J. C. Álvarez, ‘Perfil” Alejandro Álvarez’, (1990) 54 Diplomacia 31;M. Koskenniemi, The Gentle Civilizer of Nations” The Rise and Fall of Modern International Law, 1870-1960 (2002), 302-9; Gamboa Serazzi, ‘Elle a ainsi repris et dé veloppé une tradition qui se trouvait amorcé e tant dans la jurisprudence de la Cour permanente que dans la jurisprudence arbitrale posté rieure à 1920. note 5, at 7-23. A brief description of his time at the International Court of Justice can be found in A. Eyffinger, The International Court of Justice 1946-1996 (1996), 262.
7. See annex for a list of the judgments and advisory opinions in which Judge Álvarez participated.
8. As the listing inthe annexshows,Álvarezveryoftenmadeuseofhis right toattachanindividualordissenting opinion. The practice of attaching individual opinions stems from the Anglo-Saxon legal tradition. The idea that the individual opinions can contribute to the development of international law is implicit in the Statute of the Court. The main criticism of this idea was that the independence of the judges could be in danger if their deliberations were no longer in secret, and there was also a fear that the Court's authority could be undermined. Nevertheless, the possibility of attaching individual opinions has been kept, and they convey the main lines of discussion. See I. Hussain, Dissenting and Separate Opinions of the World Court (1984), 4; S. Rosenne, The Lawand Practice of the InternationalCourt 1920-1996 (1997), III, 1584; E.Hambro, ‘Dissenting and Individual Opinions in the International Court of Justice’, (1956/7)17 Zeitschrift fü r auslä ndisches ö ffentliches Recht und Vö lkerrecht 230. Hambro, the former registrar of the Court, stated that some judges commented to him that they would rather resign from office than give up the privilege of an individual or dissenting opinion, see Hambro, at 247 n. 87. For a contemporary view on Judge Álvarez, including a wider selection of judgments and separate opinions, seeW. Samore, ‘The New International Law of Alejandro Álvarez, (1958) 52 AJIL 41.
9. Among his admirerswere, for instance, the Colombian Jesu’ sM. Yepes, theGermanKarl Strupp andAlbert de La Pradelle of France; his detractors were the Brazilian Manoel Alvaro de Souza Sa Vianna, the Argentinian Daniel Antokoletz, the Salvadoran Gustavo Guerrero and the Italian Carlo Cereti.
10. E.McWhinney, JudgeManfred Lachs and Judicial Law-making (1995), x.
11. Q.Wright, Contemporary International Law” A Balance Sheet (1955), 24.
12. A. Álvarez, La codification du droit international (1912).
13. Koskenniemi, Among his admirerswere, for instance, the Colombian Jesu’ sM. Yepes, theGermanKarl Strupp andAlbert de La Pradelle of France; his detractors were the Brazilian Manoel Alvaro de Souza Sa Vianna, the Argentinian Daniel Antokoletz, the Salvadoran Gustavo Guerrero and the Italian Carlo Cereti. note 7, 304.
14. M.M.L. Savelberg, Le problème du droit international amé ricain (1946), 14.
15. ‘Le solidarisme semble en passe de devenir, pour la troisiè me Ré publique, une maniè re de philosophie officielle'” see C. Bouglé, Le solidarisme (1907), 1.
16. A. Álvarez, De I'influence des phé nomè nes politiques et sociaux sur l'organisation de la famille moderne (1899).
17. A. Álvarez, Le droit international amé ricain (1909), 8 n. 2. Álvarez names his teacher Louis Renault as the head of this new school and repeated this in La codification du droit international (1912), 9 n. 1, a fact which seems doubtful toKoskenniemi, sinceRenaultwasnot ‘conversant with Durkheimian sociology’. SeeKoskenniemi, Among his admirerswere, for instance, the Colombian Jesu’ sM. Yepes, theGermanKarl Strupp andAlbert de La Pradelle of France; his detractors were the Brazilian Manoel Alvaro de Souza Sa Vianna, the Argentinian Daniel Antokoletz, the Salvadoran Gustavo Guerrero and the Italian Carlo Cereti. note 7, 302.
18. A. Álvarez, ‘The New International Law’, (1929) 15 Transactions of the Grotius Society 35.
19. Among his admirerswere, for instance, the Colombian Jesu’ sM. Yepes, theGermanKarl Strupp andAlbert de La Pradelle of France; his detractors were the Brazilian Manoel Alvaro de Souza Sa Vianna, the Argentinian Daniel Antokoletz, the Salvadoran Gustavo Guerrero and the Italian Carlo Cereti., at 44, 47-8.
20. A. Álvarez, Exposé des motifs et dé claration des grands principes du droit international moderne (1931).
21. A. Álvarez, Exposé desmotifs et dé claration des grands principes du droit internationalmoderne, 2nd edn (1938), 21.
22. Infra note 76.
23. F. V. Garcea-Amador, ‘Calvo Doctrine, Calvo Clause’, in R. Bernhardt, Encyclopedia of Public International Law (1992), I, 521, 523.
24. A. Álvarez, Ré novation des bases de la vie des peuples (1947/48), 16.
25. A. Álvarez, Introduccio’ n, inM. Cruchaga Tocornal, Derecho Internacional, Vol. 1 (1944), lxiv-lxvi.
26. See for instance A. Álvarez, Une nouvelle conception des é tudes juridiques et de la codification du droit civil (1904); La codification du droit international (1912); Le droit international de l'avenir (1917); Considé rations gé né rales sur la codification du droit international amé ricain (1927); La codification du droit international (1929).
27. See A. Álvarez, L'organisation internationale (1931).
28. Admission of States toMembership in the United Nations, Advisory Opinion of 28May 1948, [1948] ICJ Rep. 57.
29. L. Gross, ‘Progress towards universality ofmembership in the United Nations’, (1956) 50 AJIL 791, at 792.
30. Admission of States, Infra note 76. note 29, at 62.
31. Infra note 76., at 67.
32. Infra note 76., at 69.
33. Gross, Infra note 76… note 30, at 792.
34. G. Jaenicke, ‘Die Aufnahme neuer Mitglieder in die Organisation der Vereinten Nationen’, (1950/51) 13 Zeitschrift fü r auslä ndisches ö ffentliches Recht und Vö lkerrecht 291, at 342.
35. L. Jully, ‘Le premier avis consultatif de la Cour internationale de justice’, (1948) Die Friedens-Warte 221, at 227-8.
36. K. Ginther, ‘Article 4’, in B. Simma (ed.), The Charter of the United Nations (2002), 176, at 178; K. Herndl, ‘Admission of a State to Membership in United Nations (Advisory Opinion)’, (1992) 1 Encyclopedia of Public International Law 37.
37. Competence of Assembly Regarding Admission to the United Nations, Advisory Opinion, 3March 1950, [1950] ICJ Rep. 4.
38. F. Honig, ‘The International Court of Justice 1947-1950’, (1951/2) 14 Zeitschrift fü r auslä ndisches ö ffentliches Recht und Vö lkerrecht 497, at 523.
39. This idea was frequently mentioned in Álvarez's writings, and is reminiscent of the historical school of Friedrich Carl von Savigny, who considered the law of a nation as a reflection of the ‘Volksgeist’, i.e. the spirit of its people, a reason why law always had to be interpreted considering the historical, cultural, and social background.
40. Competence of Assembly, This idea was frequently mentioned in Álvarez's writings, and is reminiscent of the historical school of Friedrich Carl von Savigny, who considered the law of a nation as a reflection of the ‘Volksgeist’ note 38, at 13.
41. Competence of Assembly., at 16.
42. Competence of Assembly., at 17.
43. Competence of Assembly., at 18-19.
44. Competence of Assembly., at 20.
45. Competence of Assembly., at 21 (emphasis in original).
46. Honig, Competence of Assembly… note 39, at 526.
47. L. Jully, ‘La Compé tence de l'Assemblé e gé né rale pour l'admission d'un é tat aux Nations Unies’, (1950-1) Die Friedens-Warte 134, at 139.
48. V. Gowlland-Debbas, ‘The Relationship between the International Court of Justice and the Security Council in the Light of the Lockerbie Case’, (1994) 88 AJIL 643, at 663. Gowlland-Debbas refers to the following statement taken from Álvarez's individual opinion concerning the Corfu Channel case” ‘I consider that in virtue of the law of social interdependence this condemnation of the misuse of a right should be transported into international law. For in that law the unlimited exercise of a right by a State, as a consequence of its absolute sovereignty, may sometimes cause disturbances or even conflicts which are a danger to peace.’ See Corfu Channel Case (United Kingdom vs. Albania),Merits, Judgment of 9 April 1949, [1949] ICJ Rep. 4, at 48.
49. Q.Wright, ‘The Corfu Channel Case’, (1949) 43 AJIL 491, at 491.
50. Corfu Channel Case, Competence of Assembly… note 49, at 22.
51. Honig, Corfu Channel Case note 39, at 503
52. Corfu Channel Case., at 504.
53. Corfu Channel Case, Corfu Channel Case. note 49, at 39.
54. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’ For the whole text of the resolution, see http//www.un.org/documents/ga/res/2/ares2.htm.
55. Honig, ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’ note 39, at 505.
56. Corfu Channel Case, ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’ note 49, at 43.
57. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’., at 44.
58. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’., at 48.
59. J.Mervyn Jones, ‘Corfu Channel Case” Jurisdiction’, (1949) 35 Transactions of the Grotius Society 91, at 94.
60. Wright, ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’. note 50, at 494.
61. International Status of South-West Africa, Advisory Opinion of 11 July 1950, [1950] ICJ Rep. 128.
62. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’., at 133.
63. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’., at 175.
64. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’., at 177.
65. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’., at 184-5.
66. ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’., at 182.
67. Honig, ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’… note 39, at 540.
68. E. Kahn, ‘The International Court's Advisory Opinion on the International Status of South-West Africa’, (1951) 4 International Law Quarterly 78, at 91-3.
69. South-West Africa, ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’… note 62, at 179.
70. E. Klein, ‘SouthWestAfrica/Namibia(AdvisoryOpinionsandJudgments)’,4Encyclopedia of Public International Law (2000), 491, at 492, 498.
71. Álvarez, ‘Le droit international amé ricain. Son origine et son é volution’, (1907) 14 RGDIP 393.
72. J. A. Barberis, ‘International Law, American’, in Encyclopedia of Public International Law (1995), II, 1178, at 1178-9.
73. A. Álvarez, Le droit international amé ricain (1910), 268.
74. Asylum Case (Colombia/Peru), Judgment of 20 November 1950, [1950] ICJ Rep. 266.
75. Art. 1(1) of the 1928 Havana Convention on Diplomatic Asylum reads as follows” ‘It is not permissible for States to grant asylum in legations, warships, military camps or military aircraft, to persons accused or condemned for common crimes, or to deserters from the army or navy.’ Art. 2(2)(1) reads as follows” ‘Asylum may not be granted except in urgent cases and for the period of time strictly indispensable for the person who has sought asylum to ensure in some other way his safety.’ For the full text of the convention, see OAS, Official Records (OEA/SER.X/1), Treaty Series No. 34.
76. Asylum Case, ‘Considering that it is also of paramount importance that the Court should be utilized to the greatest practicable extent in the progressive development of international law, both in regard to legal issues between States and in regard to constitutional interpretation.’… note 75, at 277.
77. Asylum Case., at 292.
78. Asylum Case., at 294 (emphasis in original).
79. Asylum Case., at 295.
80. Asylum Case., at 292.
81. M. R. Garcea-Mora, ‘The Colombian-Peruvian Asylum Case and the Doctrine of Human Rights’, (1951) 37 Virginia Law Review 927, at 934.
82. Asylum Case, Asylum Case… note 75, at 297.
83. Asylum Case., at 299.
84. H. Lauterpacht, The Development of International Law by the International Court (1958), 30.
85. Garce’ a-Mora, The Development of International Law by the International Court note 82, at 938-9.
86. The Development of International Law by the International Court., at 956, 965.
87. Hussain puts it in a quite drastic way” ‘Viewed in the light of his individual opinions, he seems to be no less than a bull in a china shop’. The Development of International Law by the International Court note 9, at 82. According to Hussain, Álvarez represented natural law and attempted to reform the Court by means of individual and dissenting opinions, in opposition to the positivist attitude of the majority of the Court, and was thus in conflict with the same. For Hussain, Álvarez did not succeed in introducing ‘structural and fundamental changes in the Court's philosophy of international law’, The Development of International Law by the International Court., at 118.
88. Lauterpacht, The Development of International Law by the International Court note 85, at 66-7.
89. Hambro, The Development of International Law by the International Court note 9, 247-8.
90. Rosenne, The Development of International Law by the International Court note 1, at 141.
91. As Hambro mentions in his article, Suzanne Bastid gave a whole course at Paris University about Álvarez's opinions, which unfortunately was not published. The Development of International Law by the International Court note 9, at 246 n. 85.
92. S. Rosenne, ‘The Composition of the Court’, in L. Gross (ed.), The Future of the International Court of Justice (1976), 384.
93. M. Lachs, The Teacher in International Law (1987), 88.
94. U. Scheuner, ‘Naturrechtliche Strö mungen imheutigen Vö lkerrecht’, (1951/2) 13 Zeitschrift fü r auslä ndisches ö ffentliches Recht und Vö lkerrecht 556, at 567.
95. Samore, The Development of International Law by the International Court note 9, at 54.
96. H. B. Jacobini, A Study of the Philosophy of International Law as Seen inWorks of Latin AmericanWriters (1954), 109.
97. M. Koskenniemi, From Apology to Utopia. The Structure of International Legal Argument (1989), 183.
98. Koskenniemi refers to Álvarez and the French international lawyer Nicolas Politis, whom he describes together with Álvarez in the same chapter, ‘International Solidarity… Almost” Álvarez and Politis’, From Apology to Utopia. note 7, at 309.
99. Hussain, From Apology to Utopia. note 9, at 118.
100. J. L. Kunz, ‘Natural-Law Thinking in theModern Science of International Law’, (1961) 55 AJIL 951, at 956.
101. H. B. Jacobini, ‘Natural-Law Thinking in theModern Science of International Law’ note 98, at 109.
102. E. Hambro, ‘Les opinions individuelles et dissidentes des membres de la Cour Internationale de Justice’, (1964) 34 Nordisk Tidsskrift for International Ret 181, at 192.