The Shape and Structure of the ‘Usable Past’: An Empirical Analysis of the Use of Precedent in International Adjudication

Ridi, N ORCID: 0000-0002-7118-9555 (2019) The Shape and Structure of the ‘Usable Past’: An Empirical Analysis of the Use of Precedent in International Adjudication. Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 10 (2). pp. 200-247.

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Official URL: https://academic.oup.com/jids/article/10/2/200/552...

Abstract

How do international adjudicators use precedent? This question has been addressed several times in the literature, but doctrinal accounts have generally failed to consider the aggregate dimension of the phenomenon. This article seeks to provide an alternative outlook by offering a large-scale computational analysis of the body of jurisprudence of three international fora (the ICJ, the WTO Appellate Body and investment arbitration tribunals) and comparing their citation patterns with those of other judicial bodies—national and international. Building on a very large dataset (comprising over 200,000 citations), it employs network analysis tools to measure the evolution of international law citation networks. It then unpacks this emerging complexity by considering what, in a precedent, holds ‘citing value’, highlighting the expansion of the range of precedential resources as well as the consecration of established authorities. Finally, the article considers three examples of computational analysis of citations to precedent in order to better gauge the level of engagement with the past.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Source info: Niccolò Ridi, The Shape and Structure of the ‘Usable Past’: An Empirical Analysis of the Use of Precedent in International Adjudication, Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Volume 10, Issue 2, June 2019, Pages 200–247
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Precedent, Network analysis, International Courts, International Adjudication, Computational analysis of law
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2019 09:29
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 00:40
DOI:	10.1093/jnlids/idz007
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3045436