Resourcing Global Justice: The Resource Management Design of International Courts

This article examines the resource management design of international courts ( IC s) and asks: how are IC s designed in terms of the management of resources and what factors contribute to the resource management design of IC s? Theoretically, this article draws on existing literature to conceptualize resource management as a design feature of international courts and considers three causal mechanisms that might shape the resource management design of IC s: diffusion by emulation, the uploading of domestic governance norms, and bureaucrats who pursue institutional independence and sustainability. Empirically, I examine the resource management design of 24 IC s and assess who selects their chief administrators and approves their budgets. A case study on the Caribbean Court of Justice ( CCJ ) is also analyzed in order to gain traction on the causal mechanisms generating resource management design of IC s. The article shows that there is a strong tendency for IC s to have greater control over the appointment of their chief administrators, but less control over their budgets. States generally retain authority to approve IC s’ budgets. Moreover, it suggests that domestic judicial norms and national legal bureaucrats influenced the design of the CCJ 's resource management.