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The International Law Character of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (Developments in International Law, Vol 32)

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The true nature and legal status of some of the international tribunals, in a public international law framework, is a disputed matter among international lawyers. This might be considered one of the gray areas in international law. The author of this book examines one of the international arbitral bodies against this background. The Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, an international arbitral body, was created in 1981 to adjudicate hundreds of commercial disputes between Iran and the Untied States and their nationals. The constituent instrument is an agreement between the two States in form of declarations issued by a third State. The question as to the legal nature of this institution arise from the fact that not only the two States bring their calims before the Tribunal, their respective nationals, too, have the right to bring calim agaisnt the other State and pursue the calim personally. Yet, the structure of the agreement does not envisage a "diplomatic protection" framework. Nor, the applicable law, according to the relevant agreement, is limited to international law rules. These and some other elements put question marks on the true legal nature of the Tribunal. Some authors on the subject has called the Tribunal and similar institutions a mixed international body (See, S. Toope, "Mixed International Arbitration", Grotius, Cambridge, 1990). The author tries to resolve these questions. He approaches the issue from above, seeing the institution as an international one, and explaining the contradictory elements away. Is he successful? well, partly he is. He gives three criteria for a judicial body to be reagrded as international. There is nothign wrong with the criteria. The problem is that not all aspects of the Tribunal fit all of the three critera. In particular the manner of presentation of claims, the law applied by the Tribunal to the so called private claims and the manner of execution of the awards against U.S. nationals and a few other issues, are difficult to explain away and to satisfy the critics. I would recommend reading this book to people interested in the subject. The arguments are well developed and mature. I would also add that the Tribunal has judged itself as an international Tribunal, addting credit to the proponents of the view shared by the author.