International Adjudication Project

Over four days from 30 November to 3 December 2005, Kreddha hosted an expert meeting in The Hague on international adjudication mechanisms for intrastate peace agreements. The purpose of the meeting was to identify and discuss mechanisms of this type that could be employed by parties to intrastate peace agreements to resolve disputes that arise in the implementation of those agreements. 

The meeting was the second in a series of expert meetings designed by Kreddha to study, better understand and creatively address certain recurring contentious and critical issues relating to the implementation of intrastate peace agreements, that is, agreements between state governments and population groups aimed at resolving intrastate conflicts. At the first meeting in this series, Kreddha and the Centre UNESCO de Catalunya brought together a number of high level diplomats, leaders of parties in intrastate conflicts, international lawyers and representatives of international organizations to conduct an in-depth examination of the reasons for non-implementation, the measures that are employed by the parties and other actors to secure and promote implementation, and other possible means of promoting effective and satisfactory implementation in the future. For more information click here. One of the outcomes of that meeting was the recognition of the need to explore the availability of international adjudication mechanisms, that is, whether parties could agree in advance to refer implementation disputes to institutions that would inspire their confidence for binding resolution. This second meeting was therefore aimed at producing creative but realistic recommendations that could be carried forward by Kreddha, with a view to addressing a worrying lacuna in the international legal order: the lack of international institutions, judicial or otherwise, where population groups and states can bring their disputes for resolution. 

By design, the nature of the meeting was largely practical rather than academic. The gathered experts were asked to examine existing international dispute resolution mechanisms and explore how these could be modified, or new ones created, to suit the particular needs of parties to intrastate conflicts. For the list of experts who attended the meeting see page 42 of the report. For biographies for all participants see page 43 of the report. Financial support for the meeting was provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting successfully identified a number of follow-up activities that could be undertaken to advance the search for international adjudication mechanisms available to parties to intrastate peace agreements and, it was hoped, ultimately produce solutions that will fill the recognized gap in the international dispute resolution framework. 

Please click here to view our full report.