Romania's possible recognition of the compulsory jurisdiction of the international court of justice - a cultural approach perspective
Romania's possible recognition of the compulsory jurisdiction of the international court of justice - a cultural approach perspective

Summary/Abstract: This paper, which is based on the lecture held by the author on 31st May 2013 at the Faculty of Law of the “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, within the International Conference “International Law and Cultural Diversity: Questions and Answers”, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages stemming out for a State, and specifically for Romania, from the acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. It approaches the subject from a cultural perspective, showing that the acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the World Court of The Hague indicates a certain belonging of the respective State to a specific community of values, which shares the respect for the International Rule of Law in international relations. If in the interwar period Romania has accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice, in the communist era Romania joined the position of the other socialist States of reluctance for solving their potential disputes by an international forum (ICJ) which these countries were unable to control in any way. The author argues in the paper that nowadays, as a State member of EU (and NATO), Romania changed its political culture, so choosing to accept the compulsory jurisdiction of ICJ would bring Romania in the company of the 22 EU member States that already have made the same choice. The paper also shows that accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of ICJ sends a signal that the respective State believes it is desirable to have any disputes of a legal nature with other States settled by the ICJ, by application of international law, thus being a proclamation of its belief in international law and in the role of the ICJ as promoter and guarantor of the supremacy of law in international relations. It also expresses the willingness of that State to ground its foreign policy on the strict compliance with international law and, from a pragmatic perspective, such acceptance would facilitate the settlement of disputes of the respective State which could not have been solved through negotiations or other means of peaceful settlement.

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