On 20 May 2026, the Rio Course on Regional and International Dispute Settlement (Rio CRIDS) was honored to welcome Mr. Lesther Ortega, an international lawyer and director of LexOceana. The course is held by the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme and directed by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida.

In his lecture, moderated by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Mr. Ortega examined the practical aspects of litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He held that states should adapt to the particular nature of the Court in order to achieve good results. Cases usually span over several years and require coordination on multiple fronts. According to Mr. Ortega, litigating before the ICJ might serve different purposes, such as obtaining a final judgment, securing provisional measures, creating diplomatic leverage, shaping the public narrative, internationalizing a dispute, etc. It requires legal strategy, diplomacy and political decision-making, so a few practical questions should be raised before filing, such as whether there is jurisdictional basis, managing the relationships in the team, ensuring the continuity of the case and managing public opinion. These questions will mold what the state wants to achieve with the case, and they are not always straight-forward.

Once the state decides to litigate, it must build a structure capable of sustaining the case, which includes the design of the team. In this sense, outsourcing the strategy to international counsel is not always the best solution, as the domestic team is crucial to ensure that the national views and strategies are taken into account and that institutional memory is built. The internal organization is also important, such as clearing the evidence, speaking to the press and maintaining a coherent evidentiary record. Mr. Ortega stated that written pleadings are the centre of gravity of the case and that the oral phase is its visible stage, in which you should be concise but not repetitive. After a decision is rendered, it is not the end of the case for the state, as it must translate the decision to the public, engage in the diplomatic management, have a technical follow-up and work on institutional memory.

We warmly thank Mr. Lesther Ortega for sharing his insights and practical experience with us. We look forward to further collaboration.