Jusletter IT

Judgments of international courts and tribunals are characterised by meticulous application of legal methodology, in particular the various forms of norm interpretation and analogy. Additionally however, it is also modes of logical inference which are at play and must be considered when law is applied in courts. These are being applied and handled so naturally by judges and analysts that their correct employment is not being reviewed with recourse to the strict rules of formal logic. The present paper demonstrates for the first time the importance, relevance and effects of logic in international law. It lays out the doctrinal grounds for its application in international law with a view to international jurisprudence and elaborates on the legal consequences of logical fallacies therein. It shall be argued here that logic is an inherent principle of public international law and that a breach of the rules of logical inference calls into question the very value, understanding, plausibility and acceptance of judicial reasoning. As a result, errors in logic may constitute a valid ground for the revision of a judgment pursuant to art. 61 of the ICJ Statute.