Forum Internum and Forum Externum in Canon Law and Public International Law with a Particular Reference to the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
[Article]
Peter Petkoff
Leiden
Brill
The canon law distinction of two forums emphasizes the importance of a dialogical relationship between two spheres of jurisdiction for the development of co-responsibility and solidarity in the context of what could be described as a pursuit of a relational justice. In the context of international law the same terminology expresses an approach which balances between interests in what is defined as the public and private sphere but also defines the scope of these spheres by overemphasizing their distinctiveness and their different levels of autonomy from the point of view of duties of the State and the potential of state interference. This article explores the possibility of a more relational understanding of the two forums in international law. The canon law distinction of two forums emphasizes the importance of a dialogical relationship between two spheres of jurisdiction for the development of co-responsibility and solidarity in the context of what could be described as a pursuit of a relational justice. In the context of international law the same terminology expresses an approach which balances between interests in what is defined as the public and private sphere but also defines the scope of these spheres by overemphasizing their distinctiveness and their different levels of autonomy from the point of view of duties of the State and the potential of state interference. This article explores the possibility of a more relational understanding of the two forums in international law.