1. !the! extent! that! the! decisions! contain! findings! of! law,! the! Court! will! treat! them! as! it! treats! all! previous! decisions:! that! is! to! say! that,! while! those! decisions! are! in! no! way! binding! on! the! Court,!it!will!not!depart!from!its!settled!jurisprudence!unless!it!finds!very!particular!reasons! to!do!so.' 41 !Its!Registry!has!expressed!a!desire!for!'continuity'. 42 !But!there!is!more:!beyond! the!walls!of!the!Peace!Palace,!its!judgments!are!regularly!scrutinised!and!observed!by!the! International! Law! Commission, 43 ! the! General! Assembly, 44 ! and! other! international! courts. 45 ! As!such,!the!Court's!view!on!the!binding!nature!of!a!rule;!that!of!other!international!courts.!Certainly,!the!Court!regards!its!own!judgments! as!influential,!and!has!expressly!granted!them!a!high!persuasive!value!as!precedent:!'
2. This!habit!is!nothing!new:!the!Permanent!Court!already!stated!in! Case$ of$ Readaptation$ of$ the$ Mavrommatis$ Jerusalem$ Concessions$ (Greece$ v$ Britain)$ (Jurisdiction)! 1927! PCIJ! Rep! Series! A! No! 11,! 18,! the! Court! would! have! 'no! reason! to! depart! from! a! construction! which! clearly! flows! from!the!previous!judgments!the!reasoning!of!which!it!still!regards!as!sound;!Application$of$the$Convention$on$the$Prevention$and$Punishment$of$the$Crime$of$Genocide$(Croatia$v$Serbia)! (Jurisdiction),![2008]!ICJ!Rep!412,!428!para!53
3. The International Court of Justice and the sources of international law