Judicial Exile and International Judicial Reform: Rethinking the Independence of the Judiciary in a Global Context: Judicial Exile and International Judicial Reform: Rethinking the Independence of the Judiciary in a Global Context

Fauzan Muzakki; Atma  Suganda; Supaphorn  Akkapin

doi:10.56107/penalaw.v3i2.245

Authors

Fauzan Muzakki Jayabaya University, Indonesia
Atma Suganda Jayabaya University, Indonesia
Supaphorn Akkapin Rajamangala University Of Technology Krungthep, Thailand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56107/penalaw.v3i2.245

Keywords:

Judicial Independence; Judicial Alienation; International Courts; Global Governance; Institutional Reform; Legitimacy Crisis

Abstract

Judicial independence is widely recognized as a cornerstone of justice, yet its realization in the international sphere faces increasing challenges from political pressures and global power asymmetries. This study introduces the concept of judicial alienation to capture the growing disconnection between the normative ideals of international courts and their perceived legitimacy. Using a qualitative design with a normative legal and comparative approach, the research examines primary legal instruments, including the Rome Statute, the UN Charter, and selected judgments of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body (WTO DSB), complemented by secondary academic sources. Findings indicate three interrelated patterns: uneven jurisdiction, particularly the ICC’s disproportionate focus on African cases; legitimacy crises, reflected in recurring resistance to ICJ jurisdiction; and the limited scope of reforms, which tend to be procedural rather than structural. Comparative analysis further reveals that while the WTO DSB benefits from broader acceptance through its consensus-based mechanism, the ICC and ICJ remain vulnerable to contestation due to their direct engagement with state sovereignty. The discussion argues that judicial independence should be reconceptualized not only as a normative principle but also as a socio-political practice embedded in global governance. The study contributes theoretically by advancing an interdisciplinary framework and practically by offering reform-oriented recommendations for more inclusive, transparent, and sustainable international judicial institutions.

References

Alni, Z. A., Jasim, R. M., Turki, M., & Jasim, B. A. A. L. (2024). The International Criminal Court and the Quest for Global Justice their Challenges and Prospects. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(5), 481–492. https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i5.3918

Alschner, W., & Charlotin, D. (2018). The growing complexity of the International Court of Justice’s self-citation network. European Journal of International Law, 29(1), 83–112. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chy002

Ambos, K. (2012). The first judgment of the international criminal court (Prosecutor v. Lubanga): A comprehensive analysis of the legal issues. International Criminal Law Review, 12(2), 115–153. https://doi.org/10.1163/157181212X639644

Bahiru, B. A. (2022). Challenges of Dispute Settlement through International Court of Justice (ICJ): the Case of Ukraine v. Russian Federation the Decision on Provisional Measures on Alleged Violation of Genocide Convention. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 18(29), 64. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2022.v18n29p64

Bekou, O., & Cryer, R. (2007). The International Criminal Court and universal jurisdiction: A close encounter? International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 56(1), 49–68. https://doi.org/10.1093/iclq/lei149

Chowdhury, M. S. (2003). Jurisdictional Problems of the International Criminal Court. Jurnal Hukum, 6(1), 1–18.

Crenshaw, M. (2007). “Explaining Suicide Terrorism: A Review Essay.” Security Studies, 16(1), 133–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/09636410701304580

Danner, A. M. (2003). Guest Lecture Series of the Office of the Prosecutor “Prosecutorial discretion and legitimacy.” American Journal of International Law, 97(3), 510. http://www.un.org/law/icc/asp

Donaldson, M., & Kingsbury, B. (2013). The adoption of transparency policies in global governance institutions: Justifications, effects, and implications. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 9(1), 119–147. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-102811-173840

Driedger, J. J. (2023). Risk acceptance and offensive war: The case of Russia under the Putin regime. Contemporary Security Policy, 44(2), 199–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2023.2164974

Dunoff, J. L., & Pollack, M. A. (2017). The Judicial Trilemma. American Journal of International Law, 111(2), 225–276. https://doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2017.23

Dunoff, J., & Pollack, M. (2018). International Judicial Practices: Opening the “Black Box” of International Courts. Michigan Journal of International Law, 40(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.36642/mjil.40.1.international

Eberechi, I. (2011). “rounding Up the Usual Suspects”: Exclusion, Selectivity, and Impunity in the Enforcement of International Criminal Justice and the African Union’s Emerging Resistance. African Journal of Legal Studies, 4(1), 51–84. https://doi.org/10.1163/170873811X567970

Elsig, M., & Pollack, M. A. (2014). Agents, trustees, and international courts: The politics of judicial appointment at the World Trade Organization. European Journal of International Relations, 20(2), 391–415. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066112448201

Fontanelli, F., & Busco, P. (2016). The function of procedural justice in international adjudication. Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, 15(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718034-12341310

Galib, A. M., Kholish, M. A., & Fajar, A. S. M. (2025). Integrating Sufi Education into Judicial Ethics : Strengthening Integrity among Religious Court Judges in Indonesia. Peradaban Journal of Law and Society, 4(1), 30–48. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.59001/ pjls.v4i1.489 This

Garoupa, N., & Ginsburg, T. (2009). Guarding the guardians: Judicial councils and judicial independence. American Journal of Comparative Law, 57(1), 103–134. https://doi.org/10.5131/ajcl.2008.0004

Gray, C. (2003). The Use and Abuse of the International Court of Justice: Cases concerning the Use of Force after Nicaragua. European Journal of International Law, 14(5), 867–905.

Habermas, J. (2001). Constitutional democracy: A paradoxical union of contradictory principles? Political Theory, 29(6), 766–781.

Halliwell, S. (2000). The subjection of muthos to logos: Plato’s citations of the poets. Classical Quarterly, 50(1), 94–112. https://doi.org/10.1093/cq/50.1.94

Han, E., & Li, X. (2024). Erosion of International Organizations’ Legitimacy under Superpower Rivalry: Evidence on the International Court of Justice. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 57(1), 21–42. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000842392300063X

Helfer, L. R., & Alter, K. J. (2013). Legitimacy and lawmaking: A tale of three international courts. Theoretical Inquiries in Law, 14(2), 479–503. https://doi.org/10.1515/til-2013-024

Helmke, G., & Rosenbluth, F. (2009). Regimes and the rule of law: Judicial independence in comparative perspective. Annual Review of Political Science, 12(1), 345–366. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.12.040907.121521

Hovell, D. (2018). The authority of universal jurisdiction. European Journal of International Law, 29(2), 427–456. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chy037

Huneeus, A. (2013). International Criminal Law by Other Means: The Quasi-criminal Jurisdiction of the Human Rights Courts. American Journal of International Law, 107(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.5305/amerjintelaw.107.1.0001

Koskenniemi, M., & Leino, P. (2002). Fragmentation of International Law? Postmodern Anxieties. Leiden Journal of International Law, 15(3), 553–579. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156502000262

Llamzon, A. P. (2007). Jurisdiction and compliance in recent decisions of the International Court of Justice. European Journal of International Law, 18(5), 815–852. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chm047

Lustig, D., & Weiler, J. H. H. (2018). Judicial review in the contemporary world- Retrospective and prospective. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 16(2), 315–372. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moy057

Madsen, M. R., Cebulak, P., & Wiebusch, M. (2018). Backlash against international courts: Explaining the forms and patterns of resistance to international courts. International Journal of Law in Context, 14(2), 197–220. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744552318000034

Méndez, J. E. (2001). National Reconciliation, Transnational Justice, and the International Criminal Court. Ethics and International Affairs, 15(1), 25–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.2001.tb00341.x

Muhammad Ghozali, Cut Afra, Deddi Agusriadi, Muhammad Yusfani, & Bahraini. (2025). The Position and Role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) In International Crime Resolution. International Journal of Law, Social Science, and Humanities, 2(1), 111–116. https://doi.org/10.70193/ijlsh.v2i1.160

Narlikar, A. (2022). How not to negotiate: the case of trade multilateralism. International Affairs, 98(5), 1553–1573. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiac063

Newman, E., & Visoka, G. (2023). The Geopolitics of State Recognition in a Transitional International Order. Geopolitics, 28(1), 364–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2021.1912018

Odermatt, J. (2018). Patterns of avoidance: Political questions before international courts. International Journal of Law in Context, 14(2), 221–236. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744552318000046

Paine, J. (2020). The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body as a Voice Mechanism. Journal of World Investment and Trade, 20(6), 820–861. https://doi.org/10.1163/22119000-12340156

Peters, A., & Schwenke, H. (2000). Comparative law beyond post-modernism. International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 49(4), 800–834.

Petersmann, E. U. (2008). Human Rights, International Economic Law and “Constitutional Justice.” European Journal of International Law, 19(4), 769–798. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chn041

Qasim Bayz, D. H. (2024). The Role and Impact of the International Criminal Court in Global Justice. OTS Canadian Journal, 3(5), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.58840/s5vqhh87

Rabinovych, M. (2022). The Interplay between Ukraine’s Domestic Legislation on Conflict and Uncontrolled Territories and its Strategic Use of “Lawfare” before Russia’s 2022 Invasion of Ukraine - A Troubled Nexus? Review of Central and East European Law, 47(3–4), 268–297. https://doi.org/10.1163/15730352-bja10070

Salzberger, E. M. (1993). A positive analysis of the doctrine of separation of powers, or: Why do we have an independent judiciary? International Review of Law and Economics, 13(4), 349–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/0144-8188(93)90029-5

Sarkin, J. (2020). Reforming the International Criminal Court (icc) to Achieve Increased State Cooperation in Investigations and Prosecutions of International Crimes. International Human Rights Law Review, 9(1), 27–61. https://doi.org/10.1163/22131035-00901001

Shany, Y. (2009). No longer a weak department of power? Reflections on the emergence of a new international judiciary. European Journal of International Law, 20(1), 73–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chn081

Spáč, S., Šipulová, K., & Urbániková, M. (2018). Capturing the Judiciary from Inside: The Story of Judicial Self-Governance in Slovakia. German Law Journal, 19(7), 1742–1768. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200023221

Stone Sweet, A., & Brunell, T. L. (2013). Trustee Courts and the Judicialization of International Regimes. Journal of Law and Courts, 1(1), 61–88. https://doi.org/10.1086/668499

Taekema, S. (2018). Theoretical and Normative Frameworks for Legal Research: Putting Theory into Practice. Law and Method, 2, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.5553/rem/.000031

Tiemessen, A. (2014). The International Criminal Court and the politics of prosecutions. International Journal of Human Rights, 18(4–5), 444–461. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2014.901310

Totten, C. D., & Tyler, N. (2008). Arguing for an integrated approach to resolving the crisis in darfur: The challenges of complementarity, enforcement, and related issues in the international criminal court. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 98(3), 1069–1118.

Vagle, I. (2025). The (un)changing face of ICJ advocacy. Leiden Journal of International Law, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156524000268

Verdier, P. H. (2025). International Finance and the Return of Geopolitics. American Journal of International Law, 119(2), 229–278. https://doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2025.8

von Bogdandy, A., & Venzke, I. (2011). Beyond dispute: International judicial institutions as lawmakers. German Law Journal, 12(5), 979–1003. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200017193

von Bogdandy, A., & Venzke, I. (2012). In whose name? An investigation of international courts’ public authority and its democratic justification. European Journal of International Law, 23(1), 7–41. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chr106

von Staden, A. (2012). The democratic legitimacy of judicial review beyond the state: Normative subsidiarity and judicial standards of review. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 10(4), 1023–1049. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/mos032

Judicial Exile and International Judicial Reform: Rethinking the Independence of the Judiciary in a Global Context