ESIL Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals: Online Discussion 'Who Watches the Bench? Judicial Independence and the Uneven Architecture of International Courts' [22 October 2026]
European Society of International Law (ESIL), Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals.About the organiser
The European Society of International Law (ESIL) is a learned society of international lawyers. Its Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals (IGICT) is convened by Michael Becker, Yusra Suedi, Sarah Thin, Veronica Botticelli and James Devaney, and runs online discussions on the work and authority of international courts.
About the event
The Interest Group is hosting an online panel discussion titled 'Who Watches the Bench? Judicial Independence and the Uneven Architecture of International Courts' on Thursday, 22 October 2026, from 15:00 to 16:30 CEST (14:00 to 15:30 UK time), which is 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm IST.
As international courts and tribunals take on increasingly politically charged disputes, the individuals deciding them have become objects of scrutiny in their own right. The panel brings together three perspectives on judicial independence, impartiality and accountability across international adjudication. It asks what standards govern challenges to the composition of international tribunals and whether they are shifting, how much of the ICJ's practice on judicial conflicts of interest remains unwritten and unexamined, and how evenly, or unevenly, different international courts have institutionalised the safeguards on which their legitimacy depends. By examining disqualification, recusal and judicial conduct across UNCLOS, the ICJ, the ICC and ICSID, the panel asks whether the regulation of judicial independence has become a new arena in which states negotiate the authority and limits of international courts.
Moderator and speakers
- Moderator: Yusra Suedi, University of Manchester
- 'The Unwritten Jurisprudence: Judicial Recusal and Conflicts of Interest at the ICJ', Dari Nof, University of Haifa
- 'Measure for Measure: The Uneven Architecture of Judicial Safeguards', Hendrik Mathis Drößler, University of Salzburg
- 'Challenging the Judges: Judicial Disqualification and the Uneven Judicialization of International Adjudication', Dr Oktawian Kuc, University of Warsaw, and Dr Miłosz Gapsa, University of Łódź
Who can attend
The organiser states only that registration is required; it does not state any restriction on who may register. Students, researchers and practitioners of international law in India can join online.
Fee
No fee is mentioned on the ESIL event page or in the flyer; registration is through the Zoom form linked below and nothing is charged there.
How to register
Register through the Zoom registration link given on the ESIL event page and in the flyer. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The organiser states no separate registration deadline; register on Zoom before the session begins at 15:00 CEST (6:30 pm IST) on 22 October 2026.