The independence of the domestic judiciary in international law

International courts, such as the ICC, the ICTR and the ECHR, may be willing to entrust domestic courts to do what they would have done themselves, but only if and to the extent that such domestic courts are sufficiently insulated from pressures from the political branches of their state. If this condition is satisfied, they may be willing to accept the outcome of domestic litigation as authoritative. The principle of independence thus may function as a rule of recognition in international law. This article explores if and under what conditions international law indeed can rely on the principle of independence as a criterion for distinguishing between domestic judicial decisions that the international legal order can defer to as authoritative settlements of international claims, on the one hand, and those decisions that are too nationalistic of to which it cannot defer because they are too much tied to the domestic legal order.