The Practice of Self-Recusal and Recusal of Judges of the International Court of Justice

Abstract

The article proposes to analyse the practice of the International Court of Justice, which is developing in the area of recusal and self-recusal of judges. Based on the proposed analysis, the author attempts to doctrinally understand not only the actual institution of the recusal of a judge, which is becoming increasingly relevant in modern international lawfare, but also the closely related categories of impartiality and independence. These are complex and multidimensional concepts which, in the context of the study of international justice, have not been adequately addressed in Russian international law scholarship. Collisions of the legal status of a judge can be conditionally divided into two types: conflicts of permanent and conflicts of temporary incompatibility, which is reflected in the ICJ Statute and the practice of this Court. Almost every court, including the International Court of Justice, has mechanisms to deal with conflicts of interest among judges that create or are likely to create bias, or create or are likely to create doubts about independence. However, the jurisprudence of the ICJ in this regard is of particular interest because of the certain authority of the Court and long experience in dealing with such issues.