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NILR 2006
BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS 141
j. allain, A Century of International Adjudication: The Rule of Law and Its Limits, T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague 2000, xvii + 264 pp., UK 65 / US$ 110. ISBN 90-6704-125-4.doi: 10.1017/S0165070X06211410
This book endeavours to explore the limits of the rule of law in international adjudication and arbitration. As is well known, due to the decentralised nature of the international legal system with its lack of compulsory jurisdiction for courts and tribunals, the general record of international adjudication and arbitration is rather poor.
The book is divided into six chapters, each devoted to an international court or tribunal. The rst chapter examines the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). Before addressing the PCA directly, the rst chapter deals with some preliminary, in particular historical, issues. These are the voluntary nature of international adjudication (pp. 7-10), an account of the historical development of the peace movement and its call for compulsory arbitration (pp. 10-14), the growth of international arbitration (pp. 14-17), and its consolidation (pp. 17-24). On the last 11 pages of this rst chapter the author examines the PCA itself (pp. 24-35). After a description of the development of the PCA, the remaining pages are devoted to a rather short presentation of the practice under the system of the PCA. While it is true that the record of the PCA is far from impressive, it is probably an exaggeration to state, as the author does, that it has sat in splendid isolation in a world rife with violations of international law (p. 34). The entire structure of the PCA and the fact that it is a mere facilitator make it doubtful whether it is a main organ for preventing or remedying violations of international law. In any event it is interesting to see that the case load of the PCA nevertheless has increased steadily in recent years.1
Chapter 2 is devoted to the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It recounts the history of the origins of the PCIJ from the Advisory Committee of Jurists to the Assembly of the League of Nations (pp. 36-40). It then briey states how the jurisdiction of the PCIJ was established (pp. 40-42), and reproduces...