Any respectable domestic legal system has a hierarchy of tribunals ending with a final court of appeal. International law has no such system. Since each state is sovereign, it cannot be required to submit to the jurisdiction of an international tribunal (which term includes international courts) unless it has consented to its jurisdiction. And there is no hierarchy of tribunals, but rather an unsystematic patchwork. Even though judgments of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are very influential, it is not at the apex of the international legal system. In this chapter, we look at some international tribunals. (See p. 246 above for the European Court of Human Rights, p. 273 above for international criminal tribunals, p. 382 above for the World Trade Organization and p. 475 below for the European Court of Justice.)

Many disputes are settled quickly and informally; others can take many years to resolve; some are never resolved; and with some it is better to manage them than attempt a resolution. A dispute is usually between only two parties. There is no one method of dispute settlement, or even one that is generally used.