The Arbitral Tribunal for Upper Silesia: An Early Success in International Adjudication

Abstract

From a contemporary perspective, the Arbitral Tribunal for Upper Silesia appears remarkably well developed as a type of international jurisdiction, regarding both its substantive personal and material jurisdiction and the mechanisms and procedure for its enforcement. For example, the Arbitral Tribunal had the competence to determine questions of nationality in claims brought by individuals, which even today the Court of Justice of the European Union, often considered the most developed international court, does not have. Section 1: Factual Background and Historical Context of the Tribunal Section 2: The Process of Negotiation and Adoption of the Geneva Convention Provisions on the Tribunal Section 3: The Procedural, Personal and Material Jurisdiction of the Tribunal Section 4: Caselaw Section 5: Successful Reception of the Tribunal’s Caselaw Section 6: A Prospective and Retrospective View – The Tribunal in the Context of the Development of International Courts and Tribunals