Among the many aspects of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which have been uniquely illuminated by Shabtai Rosenne is that of the Court's formation of a chamber for dealing with a particular case, in pursuance of its authority under Article 26, paragraph 2 of its Statute. With characteristic specificity and subtlety of analysis, Rosenne's treatment brings out – or anticipates – the problems such chambers may pose and the possibilities they may offer. In this as in other of his dissections of the corpus of the Court's anatomy and jurisprudence, Rosenne has made an exceptional contribution to the understanding of how the Court works and to the prospects of its working more effectively.

This essay examines ad hoc chambers of the Court as provided for in the Court's Statute and Rules and as they have developed in practice. In the light of that exposition, it identifies what appear to be the principal questions such chambers pose, and suggests answers to those questions.

The Statute of the Permanent Court

The Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) contained detailed provisions regarding chambers for specified categories of cases. It provided that, at the request of the parties, labor cases shall be heard and determined by a special chamber of five judges appointed every three years by the Court and “selected so far as possible with due regard to the provisions of Article 9.”