ABSTRACT
Few procedural phenomena excite more scholarly interest than the rules governing third-party amicus participation in International Courts (IC). The role of the amicus in international adjudication is often associated with ‘progressive’ values such as transparency, public participation and democracy. Legal academics, in addition to observing and critiquing the amicus phenomenon from a multitude of angles, are themselves participating as amici curiae in ever greater numbers. Ideological developments in transitional justice and the associated re-emergence of international criminal courts further contributed to the rise of amicus participation in the 1990s. The regulation of amicus participation in ICs is variable, but it is possible to discern a general trend towards more permissive procedural frameworks that are open in principle to those that engage in advocacy. The assumption that amicus intervention enhances the legitimacy of ICs is a major justification for the wide acceptance of this phenomenon.
