Assessing the Effectiveness of International Courts

Are international courts effective? Scholars must decide whether the conceptual framework proposed by Shany is put to best use in a comparative analysis across different international courts, in an assessment of the effectiveness of an individual court on its own, or in both forms of application. Nevertheless, although future research will be instrumental in testing the methodology and concepts as developed, shining a spotlight on effectiveness is an important contribution. * Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, American Journal of International Law *
Professor Shany's book is an extremely far-reaching and exhaustive study. For lawyers, particularly those concerned with the work of international courts, the great merit of the book is that it guides the reader to look beyond a court's judgments and opinions, and form a realistic picture of the actual impact beyond the courtroom that these may make, and in Professor Shany's apt terminology, to look beyond the 'output' of the court, and discern and assess the 'outcome'. * Hugh Thirlway, Netherlands International Law Review *
Rather than assessing effectiveness according to one or more of the usual indicators -- compliance with decisions, usage rates, impact on the conduct of parties - he puts forward a 'conceptual framework to analyze questions about the effectiveness of international courts, which could serve as the basis for future research programs'. Put differently, the book's focus is not on whether international courts are effective, but on how their effectiveness should be assessed. If judged by its title, this book makes for a surprising read. But it is a welcome surprise, and an enriching one. The conceptual framework set out is indeed 'sophisticated and complex', and it is presented in a tightly argued and dense manner. So all things considered, perhaps this book should be seen as a prologue to a new, and higher, level of engagement with effectiveness. * Christian Tams, European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2015 *
Shany's efforts to take seriously the exhortations towards effectiveness directed at international courts have led him to develop an ambitious goal-based analysis that proves successful in its application to a range of different institutions. * Gleider I. Hernández, The European Journal of International Law *