The Global Spread of European Style International Courts

Europe created the model of embedded international courts, where domestic judges work with international judges to interpret and apply international legal rules that are also part of national legal orders. This model has now diffused around the world. This article documents the spread of Europe-style international courts: there are now eleven operational copies of the European Court of Justice, three copies of the European Court of Human Rights, and a handful of additional international courts that use Europe’s embedded approach to international law. After documenting the spread of European style international courts, the article then explains how two regions chose the European style. I explain the decision of the Andean Community to copy the European Court of Justice, compared to the decision of Francophone African countries to create their own version of a European style international court for the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa.