Law Assignment on Tribunals Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law on Tribunals - Assignment Example In absence of tribunals, disputes among nations would possibly descend into war, economic and human suffering and unsustainable exploitation of global shared resources. Lastly, non-compliance by member countries, non-membership by important countries and a lack of sufficient power to impose resolutions are demerits of tribunals. Introduction Tribunals have gained prominence in the contemporary world ever since the Nuremberg trials for war crimes following World War II. According to Posner and Yoo (2004), a tribunal is a panel of individuals given the responsibility of resolving a dispute between or among states based on international law. Tribunals offer third party dispute resolution or international adjudication, and have different levels on a dependency continuum ranging from the more dependent arbitrator to the less dependent court. Tribunals have been seen as an acceptable way to deal with international disputes, as seen by the pressure on the UN (United Nations) to set up an ad hoc international criminal tribunal (Schabas, 2006). This momentum towards establishing tribunals informs enquiry into the topic, especially given their potential to solve state-state disputes and prevent escalation possibly averting world-scale warfare. The current study investigates the importance of tribunals among two or more nations and the influence of cultural differences on international tribunals, the possible consequences of absence of tribunals and the demerits of the tribunal system. 1. The Importance of Tribunals among Two or More Nations Tribunals occupy an important position in international law and inter-state dispute resolution due to a number of reasons. First, disputes between or among nations are complex in nature and may rapidly escalate into damaged relations, proving difficult to repair. Such disputes are also of a large scale, with the capacity to result in socio-economic and political distress of the citizenry of the involved nations. Darby (2005) provides case examples of some of the inter-country disputes that have occurred in history. The disputes range from disagreements among European nations for the partitioning of Africa for colonization, complex trade disputes and conflicts over boundaries, waterways and international waters. In such cases, the nature and implications of the disputes add significance. For instance, the disputes entail vested political and economic interests and considerations on historical relations among two or more nations. In terms of consequences, warfare, human suffering and disruption of trade may ensue if interventions are unavailable. Inter-state tribunals offer a highly acceptable way out of such complex situations and avert the undesirable consequences that may ensue. The importance of tribunals in settling such disputes also lies in their nature: unlike ordinary courts of adjudication, tribunals do not suppress the voluntary element while making the involuntary element of case submission predominant (Darby, 2005). The tribunal system balances adjudicative and arbitrative roles unlike ordinary courts of law, making it suitable for the complexities of international disputes. This makes tribunals acceptable and averts or repairs any damages in inter-state relations. Tribunals are also sufficiently flexible to cater for different situations. For instance, interstate tribunals provide control to the states, which are unitary