Decolonizing International Law: Wellington Koo’s Dissents Against Empire From the International Court of Justice Bench

Abstract This article studies how the International Court of Justice handled disputes on decolonization through the jurisprudence of Judge Wellington Koo of China. The Court served as a space for ongoing decolonization contestations and as a venue of last resort for those dissatisfied with how the end of imperial rule unfolded. A former statesman, Koo brought to the bench not only his expertise in international law, but also his political experience in shaping the postwar international order. The article follows the perspective of a judge who was himself often discontented, specifically with the Court—he often found himself writing either separate or dissenting opinions—but also with decolonization at large. It does so through examining a series of “edge cases,” ranging from Cambodia to South West Africa, that did not fit neatly with how the UN envisaged decolonization would manifest into discrete nation-states. This article argues that Court had an aversion to these exceptions and refrained from ruling in a way that would disrupt the dominant mode of decolonization. At the same time, looking at how Koo approached these “edge cases” shows how actors viewed the possibilities of decolonizing international law and the uneven legacy that the Court left for the international system.