Recent Activity Before The International Court Of Justice: Trend Or Cycle?

Following the United States refusal to participate in the Nicaragua case,' and its subsequent withdrawal from the so-called "optional clause,", a great deal of pessimism surrounded the future of the International Court of Justice.3 Less than a decade later, and only half way through the decade of international law, it would appear, to paraphrase Mark Twain, that reports of the court's demise were greatly exaggerated.