Determining the Legal Nature of the Exhaustion of Local Remedies Rule: A Question Finally Resolved?

It is widely accepted that the exhaustion of local remedies by foreigners is a precondition for invoking the international responsibility of a state. Scholars such as Panayotacos and Judge Ago, as well as the International Court of Justice in the interhandel case, affirm its customary international law status. However, the author notes that this near-unanimity is not absolute, as some scholars (e.g., Ténékidès, Friedmann) have contested its customary character. The article critically examines whether the rule's legal nature has indeed been definitively settled, highlighting enduring doctrinal disagreements that challenge the consensus on its customary status.