International courts are bound to apply legal rules independently and impartially according to predetermined rules, which meets requirements of procedural fairness. At the same time, they operate in a highly politicized environment and are dependent on the support of states and international organizations for resources, referring disputes to them and implementing their decisions. The lecture will review how rules on jurisdiction, admissibility and margin of appreciation have been used by international courts to mediate between judicial ethos and political reality. Professor Yuval Shany is the Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in International Law and former Dean of the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also currently serves as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee (2013-2020) - an expert body monitoring compliance by 169 States with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - as the Academic Chair of the Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Hebrew University, and as a Senior Researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute. Prof. Shany has published many books and articles on international courts and tribunals, as well as on other international law issues such as international human rights and humanitarian law. He has an LL.B. cum laude from the Hebrew...