The Content of Provisional Measures in Inter-State Proceedings

Abstract

This study examines the content of provisional measures in inter-State proceedings before international courts and tribunals. It analyses what is granted as provisional measures and why. The study addresses the law and practice of the Central American Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of International Justice, the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the United Nations Tribunal in Libya, and inter-State arbitration within and outside the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The main research question is to what extent practice confirms the alleged full freedom of international courts to grant provisional measures of any content. There are three auxiliary questions. They concern: (1) the legal basis under which international courts may grant provisional measures different from those requested; (2) the practice of selecting particular provisional measures in comparable cases; and (3) the criteria that may condition the choice of provisional measures. The study proves that the power of international courts to choose the content of provisional measures is not unlimited; it is subject to a number of conditions that limit and shape their selection.