ABSTRACT
Confronted with the changing landscape of the international legal order, international courts and tribunals have been expected to accommodate disputes of broader – substantial and participatory – scope. For some, these evolutions are proof of an emerging form of public interest litigation in international law. However, the pertinence of such a vague notion for international litigation, compared to already existing – and more adapted to their context – concepts, may be questioned. Indeed, on the one hand, because of the vagueness and variability of both the interests and the public seemingly concerned, the adaptability of a “public interest” notion to the structural requirements of international litigation appears unclear. On the other hand, in the absence of a set definition and/or of a designated authority entrusted with its interpretation and defence, its use presents multiple risks. For example, it could lead to the unilateral imposition of a definition, divert the judge from its primary task of resolving a dispute between two parties or impede the development, and appropriate structuration, of already existing legal concepts.
