Lunch seminar with Irene Miano

For These Reasons - The Practice of the International Court of Justice 1945-2023

This project analyses how the International Court of Justice (ICJ or the Court) provides reasons for its decisions. Justifying a decision is an act required by the ICJ’ Statute. However, this act is not a mere formality. What we read in the texts of judgments and advisory opinions is the results of choices made by judges that strategically uses judicial acts to communicate, as an institution, not only with the parties, but also with their broader audience. In light of these considerations, studying the use of reasons made by the Court in its judgments on the merits, judgments on preliminary objections and advisory opinion become crucially important as it can allow us to better understand the role and agenda of the ICJ and spur critical reflections on international adjudication more broadly. Therefore, this project has two layers. First, it maps reasons and highlights trends within their uses. To do so, the different ICJ’s decisions are coded using a framework of analysis composed of a series of parameters a typology of reasons and a typology of attitudes. Second, it draws conclusions on the role, agenda, image, and perception of the Court, departing from the data collected, the trends identified and the interactions of the different elements of the framework as observed.

During the lunch seminar, Irene Miano will address not only her ongoing doctoral project on Reasons, but also her research on the aesthetics of the ICJ’s judicial decisions and on the Court’s communication practices.

Speaker bio

Irene Miano is a PhD Candidate and teaching assistant in International Law at the Geneva, Graduate Institute.

Her PhD thesis addresses the use of reasons made by international courts and tribunals with a specific focus on the practice of the International Court of Justice.

She also holds a Master in International law (Geneva, Graduate Institute) and a Law degree (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan). She passed the Italian bar exam in 2022.

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Meeting ID: 637 8422 8411
Passcode: 769215