The Lecture by Roman Kolodkin at the First Postgraduate Symposium on International Law

In May, the first PhD symposium titled The Court-Centric Approach of International Law: Pro et Contra was held at the Faculty of Law of Saint Petersburg State University. Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Roman Kolodkin, delivered the keynote lecture, in which he shared his reflections on the role of international courts within the system of international law.

He emphasized that although courts are becoming increasingly visible — with a growing number of institutions, cases, participants, and references to judicial decisions — it is difficult to speak of a “court-centric” international legal order. In his view, international courts are only one of many elements in the broader system that influence the development of international law, but do not define it entirely. His address focused on three universal judicial institutions: the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Judge Kolodkin also drew attention to how perceptions of courts differ depending on one’s perspective — whether external or “from within” — and stressed the importance of understanding the judicial role within the broader context of international relations.