Horizontal and vertical relationships of international courts and tribunals - how do we address their competing jurisdiction?

giorgetti, chiara;

Competing and overlapping jurisdictions are increasingly relevant in international proceedings. This competition needs careful consideration because it can result in contradictory decisions and in the fragmentation of international law, both in terms of creating conflicts between applicable substantive bodies of law and in terms of decision-making among different courts. This article seeks first to clarify the different kinds of competitions between courts and tribunals�specifically, the fundamental distinction between decisional and jurisdictional competitions. It then clarifies and assesses exiting and the unique and distinct mechanisms used to address them to conclude that so far they have been successful in avoiding fragmentation. In the third part, this article focuses on the issues connected to partial overlap and argues that it may be usefully appraised by a framework constructed on the application of the
principles of enhanced judicial dialogue, comity and judicial restraint.