VI. The International Court of Justicecdn.un.org/unyearbook/yun/chapter_pdf/1946-47YUN/1946-47...of the International Court of Justice, but any party which so requests is to be authorized

VI. The International Court of Justice

A. PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS1

The International Court of Justice is theprincipal judicial organ of the United Nations.It functions in accordance with its Statute,which is based upon the Statute of the Perma-nent Court of International Justice and formsan integral part of the Charter.

All Members of the United Nations are ipsofacto parties to the Statute of the InternationalCourt of Justice.

A State which is not a Member of the UnitedNations may become a party to the Statute ofthe International Court of Justice on condi-tions to be determined in each case by theGeneral Assembly upon the recommendationsof the Security Council.

Each Member of the United Nations under-takes to comply with the decision of the Inter-national Court of Justice in any case to whichit is a party.

If any party to a case fails to perform theobligations incumbent upon it under a judg-

ment rendered by the Court, the other partymay have recourse to the Security Council,which may, if it deems such action necessary,make recommendations or decide upon meas-ures to be taken to give effect to the judgment.

Nothing in the Charter is to prevent Mem-bers of the United Nations from entrusting thesolution of their differences to other tribunalsby virtue of agreements already in existenceor which may be concluded in the future.

The General Assembly or the Security Coun-cil may request the International Court ofJustice to give an advisory opinion on anylegal question.

Other organs of the United Nations andspecialized agencies, which may at any time beso authorized by the General Assembly, mayalso request advisory opinions of the Court onlegal questions arising within the scope oftheir activities.

B. PROVISIONS OF THE STATUTE OF THE COURT

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURTThe Court is composed of fifteen members,

no two of whom may be nationals of the sameState and who are to be "elected regardless oftheir nationality from among persons of highmoral character, who possess the qualificationsrequired in their respective countries for ap-

1 This and the following section provide a sum-mary of the provisions of the Charter relating tothe International Court of Justice and of theStatute of the Court. Chapter XIV of the Charterdefines the position of the Court in the UnitedNations organization, the obligations of Membersof the United Nations with respect to the Courtand the relationship between the Court and theother organs of the United Nations. The Statuteof the Court is divided into five chapters. ChapterI deals with the organization of the Court, ChapterII defines the competence of the Court, ChapterIII sets forth the procedure of the Court, ChapterIV lays down the conditions under which theCourt may give advisory opinions and Chapter Vcontains provisions for amendments to the Statute.

2 The Permanent Court of Arbitration estab-

lished under Conventions of 1899 and 1907 con-sists of a panel of arbitrators from which membersare chosen to hear any one case. Each State party

pointment to the highest judicial offices, orare jurisconsults of recognized competence ininternational law."

Candidates for membership of the Court arenominated by the "national groups" in thePermanent Court of Arbitration.2 The Secre-tary-General of the United Nations draws up

to the Conventions may name not more than fourpersons to be members of the panel. The personsthus appointed constitute "national groups" whichcompose the panel of the Permanent Court ofArbitration. These "national groups" had beendesignated to nominate the judges of the Perma-nent Court of International Justice establishedin 1920 in conjunction with the League of Na-tions. Under the Statute of the InternationalCourt of Justice they are likewise to nominatethe judges of this Court, which supersedes thePermanent Court of International Justice. Mem-bers of the United Nations which are not mem-bers of the Permanent Court of Arbitration are toappoint national groups for the purpose of nom-inating the members of the International Court ofJustice in the same manner as the national groupsof the Permanent Court of Arbitration are ap-pointed.

592 Yearbook of the United Nations

a list of candidates thus nominated. From thislist the General Assembly and the SecurityCouncil, voting independently, elect the Mem-bers of the Court, an absolute majority in boththe Assembly and the Council being requiredfor election.

The members of the Court are elected fornine years and may be re-elected. However,the terms of five judges elected at the firstelection expire at the end of three years andthe terms of five more judges at the end ofsix years.

The Court elects its own President and Vice-President for three years; they may be re-elected. It appoints its Registrar and suchother officers as may be necessary.

The seat of the Court is at The Hague, butthis does not prevent the Court from exercisingits functions elsewhere whenever the Courtconsiders it desirable. The President and theRegistrar reside at the seat of the Court.

The Court remains permanently in sessionexcept during judicial vacations. A quorum ofnine judges suffices to constitute it.

From time to time the Court may establishone or more chambers of three or more judgeswhich may deal with particular categories ofcases,—for example, labor cases and cases re-lating to transit and communications. TheCourt forms annually a chamber of five mem-bers which may hear and determine cases bysummary procedure.

Judges of the same nationality as a party toa case retain their right to sit in the case be-fore the Court. If the Court includes on thebench a judge of the nationality of one of theparties, any other party may choose a personto sit as judge. If the Court includes upon thebench no judge of the nationality of the par-ties, each of the parties may choose a judgeto sit in the case before the Court.

2. COMPETENCE OF THE COURTOnly States may be parties in cases before

the Court.The Court is open to States parties to its

Statute. The conditions under which the Courtshall be open to other States are to be laiddown by the Security Council.1

The jurisdiction of the Court comprises allcases which the parties refer to it and allmatters especially provided for in the Charterof the United Nations or in treaties and con-ventions in force. To preserve continuity withthe work of the Permanent Court of Interna-

tional Justice the Statute further stipulatesthat whenever a treaty or convention in forceprovides for reference of a matter to the Per-manent Court of International Justice, thematter shall be referred to the InternationalCourt of Justice.

The States parties to the Statute may at anytime declare that they recognize as compulsoryipso facto and without special agreement, inrelation to any other State accepting the sameobligation, the jurisdiction of the Court in alllegal disputes concerning:

(a) the interpretation of a treaty;(b) any question of international law;(c) the existence of any fact which, if es-

tablished, would constitute a breach of inter-national obligation;

(d) the nature or extent of the reparationto be made for the breach of an internationalobligation.

These declarations may be made (1) uncon-ditionally, (2) on condition of reciprocity onthe part of several or certain States, (3) for acertain time.

The Statute of the Permanent Court ofInternational Justice had provided for similardeclarations of acceptance of compulsory juris-diction. The Statute of the International Courtof Justice provides that any declarations madeunder the Statute of the Permanent Court ofInternational Justice, which is still in force,shall be deemed to be acceptance of the com-pulsory jurisdiction of the International Courtof Justice for the period for which they stillhave to run.

Fifty-six nations had accepted compulsoryjurisdiction of the Permanent Court in someform. Sixteen of these acceptances are still inforce and are, under the terms of its Statute,transferred to the International Court of Jus-tice. Since the Statute has come into force,China, Denmark, France,2 Guatemala, theNetherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and theUnited States have accepted compulsory juris-diction of the International Court of Justice.3

The Court, whose function it is to decide inaccordance with international law such dis-putes as are submitted to it, is to apply :

(a) international conventions, whether gen-eral or particular, establishing rules expresslyrecognized by the contesting States;

1 See pp. 410, 411.2 France made a declaration but has not yet

ratified it.3 See Annex II.

The International Court of Justice 593

(b) international custom, as evidence of ageneral practice accepted as law;

(c) the general principles of law recognizedby civilized nations;

(d) subject to the provisions of Article 59,judicial decisions and the teachings of the mosthighly qualified publicists of the various na-tions, as subsidiary means for the determina-tion of rules of law.

The Court may decide a case ex-oequo etbono, if the parties agree to this.

3. PROCEDURE OF THE COURTFrench and English are the official languages

of the International Court of Justice, but anyparty which so requests is to be authorized touse another language.

Cases may be brought before the Courteither by the notification of the special agree-ment or by a written application addressed tothe Registrar. In either case the subject to thedispute and the parties are to be indicated.

The Court has the power to indicate anyprovisional measures which it considers oughtto be taken to preserve the respective rights ofeither party.

Unless otherwise demanded by the parties,hearings in the Court are to be public. Deliber-ations of the Court take place in private andremain secret.

All questions before the Court are decidedby a majority of judges present. In the eventof an equality of votes the President has a cast-ing vote. The judgment is to state the reasonson which it is based and contain the names of

the judges who have taken part in the decision.If the judgment does not represent in whole orin part the unanimous opinion of the judges,any judge is entitled to deliver a separateopinion.

Decisions of the Court have no binding forceexcept between the parties and in respect ofany particular case. The judgment of the Courtis final and without appeal. Revision of a judg-ment may be made only when it is based "uponthe discovery of some fact of such a nature asto be a decisive factor, which fact was, whenthe judgment was given, unknown to the Courtand also to the party claiming revision, alwaysprovided that such ignorance was not due tonegligence."

In the exercise of its advisory jurisdictionthe Court is to be guided by the provisions ofthe Court applying to contentious cases.

4. AMENDMENT OF THE STATUTEThe Statute of the International Court of

Justice can be amended by the same procedureas that used in amending the Charter of theUnited Nations, subject, however, to any pro-visions which the General Assembly upon rec-ommendation of the Security Council mayadopt concerning the participation of Stateswhich are parties to the present Statute butare not Members of the United Nations. TheCourt may propose such amendments as itdeems necessary through written communica-tions to the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations.

C. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COURT

The Statute of the International Court ofJustice provides that invitations for nomina-tions of candidates must be issued at leastthree months before elections take place. Asthe Secretary-General of the United Nations,whose function it is, under Article 5 of theStatute of the Court, to issue the invitations,would not be appointed until the first sessionof the General Assembly, the Governmentswhich signed the Interim Arrangements atSan Francisco agreed that the PreparatoryCommission was to issue the invitations. Inthis way it was made possible to elect thejudges of the International Court at the firstsession of the General Assembly.

Invitations were issued on September 12,1945, on the instructions of the Executive

Committee of the Preparatory Commission,and January 10, 1946, was fixed as the final datefor receiving nominations. On January 12,1946, immediately following the opening meet-ing of the General Assembly, a list of the can-didates nominated for election was submittedto the Assembly and to the Security Councilby the Executive Secretary and on February6 the elections took place.

The judges elected were as follows :

Nine-year TermAlejandro Alvarez (Chile)José Philadelpho de Barros Azevedo

(Brazil)Jules Basdevant (France)José Gustavo Guerrero (El Salvador)Sir Arnold Duncan McNair (United King-

dom)


Six-year TermIsidro Fabela Alfaro (Mexico)Green H. Hackworth (U. S. A.)Helge Klaestad (Norway)Sergei Borisovich Krylov (U.S.S.R.)Charles de Visscher (Belgium)

Three-year TermAbdel Hamid Badawi Pasha (Egypt)Hsu Mo (China)John E. Read (Canada)Bogdan Winiarski (Poland)Milovan Zoricic' (Yugoslavia)

On February 10, 1946, the General Assem-bly adopted a resolution instructing the Secre-tary-General to take the necessary steps tosummon a first meeting of the Court at TheHague as soon as could be arranged. TheSecretary-General was to appoint a Secretaryand other temporary officers to assist the Courtduring the period preceding the appointmentby the Court of its Registrar and officers. TheSecretary-General was also instructed to con-duct preliminary negotiations with the Car-negie Foundation in order to fix the conditionson which the premises in the Peace Palace atThe Hague could be placed at the Court'sdisposal.

On February 12, 1946, the General Assem-bly approved the setting up of a small nego-tiating committee to assist the Secretary-Gen-eral in negotiating agreements for the use bythe Court of the premises in the Peace Palace.Two agreements concluded accordingly by theCommittee with the Carnegie Foundation wereapproved by the General Assembly on Decem-ber 11, 1946.1

The first meeting of the Court was held onApril 3, 1946. On April 6, 1946, the Courtelected J. G. Guerrero President and J. Basde-vant Vice-President. E. Hambro, who hadpreviously been appointed Acting-Secretary ofthe Court by the Secretary-General and whohad made arrangements for the first meetingof the Court, was chosen as Registrar. On April18 the Court appointed J. Garnier-CoignetDeputy Registrar.

On April 18, 1946, the official inaugural sit-ting of the Court was held in the Great Hallof Justice in the Peace Palace. All judges werepresent with the exception of A. Alvarez(Chile), who was unable to reach the Haguein time. Each of the judges in turn made the

solemn declaration, required under Article 20of the Court's Statute, that he would exercisehis powers impartially and conscientiously.

The Court continued to sit until May 6,1946. On May 3 it formed the Chamber forSummary Procedure provided for in Article 29of the Statute. The members elected were asfollows: J. G. Guerrero, J. Basdevant, SirArnold McNair, S. B. Krylov and Hsu Mo.Isidore Fabela and Charles de Visscher wereelected substitute members.

One of the first matters taken up by theCourt was the preparation of its rules. Therules as adopted by the Court were based large-ly on the rules of the Permanent Court ofInternational Justice. As the rules of the Per-manent Court had been adopted as recently as1936 and represented the outcome of experi-ence gained, it was generally agreed that it wasnot necessary to undertake extensive amend-ment. Accordingly, the changes introducedwere for the most part designed to bring theold rules into conformity with the Statute ofthe International Court of Justice in thoserespects in which it differed from the Statuteof the Permanent Court.2

By a resolution of February 13, 1946, theGeneral Assembly had invited the Court to con-sider the question of privileges and immunitiesnecessary for the exercise of its functions,both in the country of its seat and elsewhere.Accordingly, the Court adopted a report rec-ommending that Members of the United Na-tions grant to the judges and the Registrardiplomatic privileges and immunities. Otherofficials of the Court as well as agents, counseland advocates of the parties, the Court recom-mended, should be granted such immunitiesand privileges as might be necessary for theindependent exercise of their functions.- As to the privileges the Court was to enjoyin the Netherlands, the President of the Court,in an exchange of letters with the NetherlandsGovernment of June 26, 1946, reached anagreement which was approved by the GeneralAssembly by a resolution of December 11,1946. In this resolution the Assembly furtherrecommended to Member Governments thatthey grant to the judges and officials of theCourt the privileges and immunities as sug-gested by the Court.3

1 See pp. 244 ff.2 The text of the Rules of the Court appears on

pp. 596 ff.3 See pp. 241 ff.


The Court considered the question of staffregulations and instructions for the Registry.It decided to adopt provisionally the regula-tions and instructions which had been in forcefor the Permanent Court of InternationalJustice.

By a resolution of February 6, 1946, theGeneral Assembly fixed the salaries of thejudges of the Court at 54,000 Netherlandflorins. The President receives a special allow-ance of 15,000 Netherland florins annually,and the Vice-President an allowance of 100florins for every day on which he acts asPresident, up to a maximum of 10,000 florins.A request contained in a letter of April 13from the President of the Court to the Secre-tary-General of the United Nations that theGeneral Assembly fix the emoluments of themembers of the Court in United States dollarsinstead of Netherland florins was subsequentlywithdrawn by the President of the Court.1

On the basis of a report of the Court ofApril 11, 1946, the General Assembly by a reso-lution of December 11, 1946, directed that thesalary of the Registrar of the InternationalCourt of Justice should be assimilated to thatof atop-ranking director of the United NationsSecretariat and should accordingly be fixed at29,150 Netherland florins. The difference be-tween the salary recommended by the Court(35,000 florins) and the salary approved bythe General Assembly (29,150 florins) is to bepaid to the Registrar as a non-pensionableallowance.

After consultation between the Registrarof the Court and the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations, the Secretary-General drewup rules governing reimbursement of traveland subsistence expenses of members of theCourt. These rules were approved by the Gen-eral Assembly on December 11, 1946.2

By a resolution of February 6, 1946, theGeneral Assembly instructed the Secretary-General to develop a pension plan for thejudges, Registrar and staff of the Court. Tak-ing into consideration the views expressed bythe Registrar of the Court in a memorandumof June 13, 1946, a working party establishedby the Secretary-General drew up a pensionscheme for the judges and the staff of theInternational Court of Justice which the Gen-eral Assembly approved on December 11,1946.3

The Court adopted its budget for 1946 and1947 and on the proposal of the Registrar ap-proved the appointment of a certain numberof officials to the Registry.

By letter of May 1, 1946, addressed to theSecretary-General, the President of the Courtrequested that the Court be informed of anydecision the Security Council might take re-garding access to the Court of States not par-ties to the Statute. At its 76th meeting onOctober 15, 1946, the Security Council on therecommendation of its Committee of Experts,resolved that the International Court of Jus-tice should be open to a State not a party tothe Court's Statute if such a State accepted thejurisdiction of the Court in accordance withthe Charter of the United Nations and theStatute and Rules of the Court, and undertookto comply in good faith with the decisions ofthe Court.4

On October 26, 1946, the Secretary-Generalreceived a request from the Swiss Governmentthat it be permitted to become a party to theStatute of the Court. On November 15, 1946,the Security Council, on the basis of a reportof its Committee of Experts, recommended tothe General Assembly that Switzerland shouldbecome a party to the Statute on the date ofdeposit with the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations of an instrument containing(a) acceptance of the provisions of the Statuteof the Court, (b) acceptance of all the obliga-tions of a Member of the United Nations underArticle 94 of the Charter, and (c) an under-taking to contribute to the expenses of theCourt. By a resolution of December 11, 1946,the General Assembly adopted the recommen-dations of the Security Council.5

On September 21, 1946, during its third ses-sion, the Economic and Social Council adopteda resolution recommending that the GeneralAssembly authorize the Economic and SocialCouncil to request the International Court ofJustice to give an advisory opinion on anylegal questions arising within the scope of itsactivities. The General Assembly granted thisauthorization by a resolution of December 11,1946.

1 See pp. 98, 99.2 See pp. 238.3 See pp. 239 ff.4 See pp. 410, 411.5 See pp. 411, 12.


D. CORFU CHANNEL DISPUTE

The Security Council on April 9, 1947, re-commended that the United Kingdom and theAlbanian Governments should immediately re-fer their dispute over the damaging of twoBritish warships in the Corfu Channel to theInternational Court of Justice in accordancewith the Statute of the Court.1

It was announced on May 23, 1947, that theGovernment of the United Kingdom had filedits application against the Albanian People's

Republic in the Corfu Channel case with theInternational Court of Justice. Notification ofthe filing of the case was received by theSecretary-General in accordance with Article40, paragraph 3, of the Statute of the Interna-tional Court, which provides that the Regis-trar of the Court shall notify the members ofthe United Nations through the Secretary-General of any cases filed with the Court.

ANNEX I.

RULES OF COURT(Adopted on May 6, 1946)

PREAMBLE

The Court,Having regard to Chapter XIV of the Char-

ter of the United Nations;Having regard to the Statute of the Court

annexed thereto;Acting in pursuance of Article 30 of the

Statute;Makes the present Rules:

HEADING I.CONSTITUTION AND WORKING OF THE COURT

Section I. — Constitution of the CourtJudges and Assessors

Article 1The term of office of members of the Court

elected in February 1946, begins to run on thedate of their election. In the case of membersof the Court elected later, the term of officeshall begin to run on the date of the expiry ofthe term of their predecessors. Nevertheless,in the case of a member elected to fill anoccasional vacancy, the term of office shall be-gin to run on the date of the election.

Article 21. Members of the Court elected during the

same session of the General Assembly of theUnited Nations shall take precedence accordingto seniority of age. Members elected during anearlier session shall take precedence over mem-bers elected at a subsequent session. A memberof the Court who is re-elected without interval,shall retain his former precedence. Judgeschosen under Article 31 of the Statute fromoutside the Court shall take precedence afterthe other judges in order of seniority of age.

2. The Vice-President shall take his seat onthe right of the President. The other judgesshall take their seats on the left and right ofthe President in the order laid down above.

Article 31. Any State which considers that it pos-

sesses and which intends to exercise the rightto choose a judge under Article 31 of theStatute shall so notify the Registry within thetime-limit fixed for the filing of the Memorialor Counter-Memorial, as the case may be, or,when it is a case of summary procedure, thefiling of the corresponding pleading. The nameof the person chosen to sit as judge shall bestated either at the time of giving the notifica-tion above-mentioned or within a time-limit tobe fixed by the President. These notificationsshall be communicated to the other parties andthey may submit their views to the Court witha time-limit to be fixed by the President. Ifany doubt or objection should arise, the deci-sion shall rest with the Court, if necessaryafter hearing the parties.

2. If, on receipt of one or more notificationsunder the terms of the preceding paragraph,the Court finds that there are several partiesin the same interest and that none of themhas a judge of its nationality upon the Bench,it shall fix a time-limit within which theseparties, acting in concert, may choose a judgeunder Article 31 of the Statute. If, at the ex-piration of this time-limit, they have not noti-fied their choice, the Court shall neverthelessproceed to examine and adjudicate upon thecase.

Article 4Where one or more of the parties are entitled

to choose a judge under Article 31 of theStatute, the Court may sit with a number ofjudges exceeding the number of members ofthe Court fixed by the Statute.

Article 51. The declaration to be made by every judge

in accordance with Article 20 of the Statuteshall be as follows :

1 See pp. 392 ff.


"I solemnly swear that I will perform myduties and exercise my powers as judge hon-ourably, faithfully, impartially and con-scientiously."2. This declaration shall be made at the first

public sitting of the Court at which the judgeis present after his election or after beingchosen under Article 31 of the Statute.

Article 6For the purpose of applying Article 18 of the

Statute the President, or if necessary, theVice-President, shall convene the members ofthe Court. The member affected shall be allowedto furnish explanations. When he has done sothe question shall be discussed and a vote shallbe taken, the member affected not being pres-ent. If the members present are unanimous,the Registrar shall issue the notification pre-scribed in the above-mentioned Article.

Article 71. The Court may, either upon its own initi-

ative or upon the request of a party made notlater than the end of the written proceedings,decide, for the purpose of a particular case, toappoint assessors to sit with it but withoutthe power to vote.

2. When the Court so decides, the Presidentshall take steps to obtain all the informationrelevant to the choice of the assessors.

3. The assessors shall be appointed, by secretballot and by an absolute majority of votes, ata private meeting of the Court.

4. The same functions shall belong to theChamber provided for by Article 29 of theStatute and to its President, and may be exer-cised in the same manner.

Article 8Before entering upon their duties, assessors

shall make the following declaration at a publicsitting:

"I solemnly declare that I will perform myduties as an assessor honourably, faithfully,impartially and conscientiously, and that Iwill scrupulously observe all the provisionsof the Statute and of the Rules of the Court."

The PresidencyArticle 9

1. The Court shall proceed to elect the Presi-dent and the Vice-President in the course ofthe month following the date on which thejudges elected at the periodic election of mem-bers of the Court enter upon their duties. ThePresident and Vice-President thus elected shalltake up their duties forthwith. If, at the peri-odic election, the President is not re-elected amember of the Court, the duties of Presidentshall in the meantime be discharged in accord-ance with Article II and Article 12, paragraph2, of these Rules.

2. If the President or the Vice-Presidentshould cease to be a member of the Court orshould resign the office of President or Vice-President before the expiry of his normal term,

an election shall be held for the purpose ofappointing a successor for the unexpired por-tion of the term.

3. The elections referred to in the presentArticle shall take place by secret ballot. Themember of the Court obtaining an absolutemajority of votes shall be declared elected.

Article 10The President shall direct the work and ad-

ministration of the Court; he shall preside atthe meetings of the Court.

Article 11The Vice-President shall take the place of

the President if the latter is unable to fulfilhis duties or if the office of President is vacant.

Article 121. Provision shall be made to ensure at the

seat of the Court the continuous discharge ofthe duties of the office of President either bythe President or the Vice-President.

2. If at the same time both the Presidentand the Vice-President are unable to fulfil theirduties, or if both offices are vacant at the sametime, the duties of President shall be dis-charged by the oldest among the members ofthe Court who have been longest on the Bench.

Article 131. If the President is a national of one of

the parties to a case brought before the Court,he will abstain from exercising his functionsas President in respect of that case. The samerule applies to the Vice-President or to anymember of the Court who may be called on toact as President.

2. If a case is begun before a periodic elec-tion of members of the Court and continuesafter such election, the duties of Presidentshall be discharged by the member of the Courtwho presided when the case was last underexamination. If he is unable to sit, the dutiesof President shall be performed by the newlyelected President or, failing him, the newlyelected Vice-President, provided that the Pres-ident or the Vice-President, as the case maybe, is qualified to sit in the case. If neither isable to sit, the duties of President shall beperformed by the oldest among the membersof the Court who have been longest on theBench.

The RegistryArticle 14

1. The Court shall select its Registrar fromamongst candidates proposed by members ofthe Court. The members of the Court shallreceive adequate notice of the date on whichthe list of candidates will be closed so as toenable nominations and information concern-ing the nationals of distant countries to bereceived in sufficient time.

2. Nominations must give the necessary par-ticulars regarding the candidates' age, nation-ality, university qualifications and linguistic


attainments, their present occupation, theirpractical legal experience and their experiencein diplomacy and in the work of internationalorganizations.

3. The election shall be by secret ballot andby an absolute majority of votes.

4. The Registrar shall be elected for a termof seven years. He may be re-elected.

5. If the Registrar should cease to hold hisoffice before the expiration of the term above-mentioned, an election shall be held for thepurpose of appointing a successor. Such elec-tion shall be for a term of seven years.

6. The Court shall appoint a Deputy-Regis-trar to assist the Registrar, to act as Registrarin his absence and, in the event of his ceasingto hold the office, to perform the duties untila new Registrar shall have been appointed.The Deputy-Registrar shall be appointed underthe same conditions and in the same way asthe Registrar.

Article 151. Before taking up his duties, the Registrar

shall make the following declaration at a meet-ing of the Court:

"I solemnly declare that I will perform theduties incumbent upon me as Registrar ofthe International Court of Justice in all loy-alty, discretion and good conscience."2. The Deputy-Registrar shall make a sim-

ilar declaration in the same circumstances.

Article 16The Registrar is entitled to two months'

holiday in each year.Article 17

1. The officials of the Registry, other thanthe Deputy-Registrar, shall be appointed bythe Court on proposals submitted by the Reg-istrar.

2. Before taking up his duties, each officialshall make the following declaration beforethe President, the Registrar being present:

"I solemnly declare that I will perform theduties incumbent upon me as an official of theInternational Court of Justice in all loyalty,discretion and good conscience."

Article 181. The Court shall prescribe and, when nec-

essary, modify the plan of the organization ofthe Registry and for this purpose shall requestthe Registrar to make proposals.

2. The Regulations for the staff of the Reg-istry shall be drawn up having regard to theplan of the organization prescribed by theCourt and to the provisions of the Regulationsfor the staff of the Secretariat of the UnitedNations to which they shall, as far as possible,conform. Their adoption by the President onthe proposal of the Registrar is subject tosubsequent approval by the Court.

Article 19If neither the Registrar nor the Deputy-

Registrar can be present or if both these officesare vacant at the same time, the Presidentshall appoint an official of the Registry to actas a substitute for the Registrar for such timeas may be necessary.

Article 201. The General List of cases submitted to

the Court for decision or for advisory opinionshall be prepared and kept up to date by theRegistrar on the instructions and subject tothe authority of the President. Cases shall beentered in the list and numbered successivelyaccording to the date of the receipt of the docu-ment bringing the case before the Court.

2. The General List shall contain the fol-lowing headings :

I. Number in list.II. Short title.

III. Date of registration.IV. Registration number.V. File number in the archives.

VI. Class of case (contentious proce-dure or advisory opinion).

VII. Parties.VIII. Interventions.

IX. Method of submission.X. Date of document instituting pro-

ceedings.XI. Time-limits for filing pleadings.

XII. Prolongation, if any, of time-limits.

XIII. Date of closure of the written pro-ceedings.

XIV. Postponements.XV. Date of the beginning of the hear-

ing (date of the first public sit-ting).

XVI. Observations.XVII. References to earlier or subse-

quent cases.XVIII. Result (nature and date).

XIX. Removal from the list (cause anddate).

XX. References to publications of theCourt relating to the case.

3. The General List shall also contain a spacefor notes, if any, and spaces for the inscription,above the initials of the President and of theRegistrar, of the dates of the entry of the case,of its result, or of its removal from the list,as the case may be.

Article 211. The Registrar shall be the regular chan-

nel for communications to and from the Court.2. The Registrar shall ensure that the date

of despatch and receipt of all communicationsand notifications may be readily verified. Com-munications addressed to the agents of theparties shall be considered as having been ad-dressed to the parties themselves. The date ofreceipt shall be noted on all documents received


by the Registrar, and a receipt bearing thisdate and the number under which the documenthas been registered shall be given to the sender.

3. The Registrar shall, subject to the obliga-tions of secrecy attaching to his official duties,reply to all enquiries concerning the work ofthe Court, including enquiries from the Press.

4. The Registrar shall publish in the Pressall necessary information as to the date andhour fixed for public sittings.

5. The Registrar shall communicate to thegovernment of the country in which the Court,or a Chamber dealing with a case, is sitting,the names, first names and description of theagents, counsel and advocates appointed byeach of the parties for the purposes of the case.

Article 22A collection of the judgments and advisory

opinions of the Court, and also of such ordersas the Court may decide to include therein,shall be printed and published under the re-sponsibility of the Registrar.

Article 281. The Registrar shall be responsible for the

archives, the accounts and all administrativework. He shall have the custody of the sealsand stamps of the Court. The Registrar or hissubstitute shall be present at all sittings of theCourt and at sittings of the Chambers. TheRegistrar shall be responsible for drawing upthe minutes of the meetings.

2. He shall undertake, in addition, all dutieswhich may be laid upon him by these Rules.

3. Instructions for the Registry shall bedrawn up by the Registrar and approved bythe President.

The ChambersArticle 24

1. When the Court decides to form one ormore of the Chambers provided for in Article26, paragraph 1, of the Statute, it shall deter-mine the particular category of cases for whicheach Chamber is formed, its composition, theperiod for which its members will serve, andthe date at which they will enter upon theirduties. The Court may in the same way changeits competence, its composition, or the methodof renewing its membership, or decide upon itsdissolution.

2. The Presidents and. the members of theChambers provided for in Article 26, para-graphs 1 and 2, and Article 29 of the Statute,shall be elected by the Court, by secret ballot,and by an absolute majority of votes.

8. The members of the Chamber of Sum-mary Procedure provided for in Article 29 ofthe Statute shall be elected for one year. Theelection shall be held within three months afterFebruary 6th, and the members thus electedshall enter upon their duties at the expirationof their predecessors' term. If, however, as theresult of a periodic election of members of the

Court, one or more members of the Chamberswill cease to be members of the Court on theensuing February 6th, an election shall be heldin the course of the three months precedingthat date to replace them. The judges thuselected shall complete the term of office of theirpredecessors.

4. The members of a Chamber shall, in con-formity with Article 13, paragraph 3, of theStatute, finish any case which they may havebegun, though they have ceased to be membersof the Chamber.

5. Subject to Article 13, paragraph 1, ofthese Rules, the President of the Court, if pres-ent, shall preside ex officio over any Chamberof which he is a member; and the Vice-Presi-dent of the Court, if present, shall preside exofficio over any Chamber of which he is a mem-ber and of which the President is not a mem-ber, or from which the President, being amember, is absent.

Section 2. — Working of the CourtArticle 25

1. In the absence of a special resolution bythe Court, the dates and duration of the vaca-tions of the Court are fixed as follows: (a)from December 18th to January 7th; (b) fromthe Sunday before Easter to the second Sundayafter Easter; (c) from July 15th to September15th. The duties of President shall neverthelessbe continuously discharged at the seat of theCourt. For this purpose, the President shalleither himself maintain contact with the Regis-trar or shall request the Vice-President to takehis place.

2. In case of urgency, the President may atany time convene the members of the Courtduring the periods mentioned in the precedingparagraph.

3. The public holidays which are customaryat the place where the Court is sitting will beobserved by the Court.

Article 261. Any member of the Court who desires to

obtain leave in pursuance of Article 23, para-graph 2, of the Statute, shall send his requestto the Registry. The Court shall consider therequest, and the date and the duration of theleave which it grants to a judge shall be fixedhaving regard to what is required to ensure itsproper working and to the distance betweenThe Hague and his home.

2. The number of members of the Court onleave at the same time must not exceed two.The President and the Vice-President mustnot both be absent on leave at the same time.

Article 27Members of the Court who are prevented by

illness or other serious reasons from attendinga sitting of the Court to which they have beensummoned by the President, shall notify thePresident who will inform the Court.


Article 281. The date and hour of sittings of the Court

shall be fixed by the President.2. The President of the Court shall fix the

date for the convening of any Chamber re-ferred to in Articles 26 and 29 of the Statute.The date and hour of the sittings of suchChamber shall be fixed by the President of theChamber.

3. The Court, or if it is not sitting the Presi-dent, may fix the place, other than The Hague,where one of the Chambers provided for byArticles 26 and 29 of the Statute shall sit andexercise its functions.

Article 29If a sitting of the Court has been convened

and it is found that there is no quorum, thePresident shall adjourn the sitting until aquorum has been obtained. Judges chosen underArticle 31 of the Statute shall not be takeninto account for the calculation of the quorum.

Article 301

1. The Court shall sit in private to delib-erate upon disputes which are submitted to itand upon advisory opinions which it is asked togive.

2. Only the judges, and the assessors, if any,shall take part in the deliberations. The Regis-trar or his substitute shall be present. No otherperson shall be admitted except in pursuanceof a special decision taken by the Court.

3. Every judge who is present at the delib-erations shall state his opinion together withthe reasons on which it is based.

4. Any judge may request that a questionwhich is to be voted upon shall be drawn up inprecise terms in both the official languagesand distributed to the Court. Effect shall begiven to any such request.

5. The decision of the Court shall be basedupon the conclusions concurred in after finaldiscussion by a majority of the judges. Thejudges shall vote in the order inverse to theorder laid down by Article 2 of these Rules.

6. No detailed minutes shall be prepared ofthe private meetings of the Court for delib-eration upon judgments or advisory opinions;the minutes of these meetings are to be con-sidered as confidential and shall record only thesubject of the debates, the votes taken, thenames of those voting for and against a motionand statements expressly made for insertionin the minutes.

7. Unless otherwise decided by the Court,paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 of this Article shallapply to deliberations by the Court in privateupon any administrative matter.

HEADING II.CONTENTIOUS PROCEEDINGS

Article 81The rules contained in Sections 1, 2 and 4

of this Heading shall not preclude the adoption

by the Court of particular modifications oradditions proposed jointly by the parties andconsidered by the Court to be appropriate tothe case and in the circumstances.

Section I. — Procedure Before the Full Court

I. General RulesInstitution of Proceedings

Article 321. When a case is brought before the Court

by means of a special agreement, Article 40,paragraph 1, of the Statute shall apply.

2. When a case is brought before the Courtby means of an application, the applicationmust, as laid down in Article 40, paragraph1, of the Statute, indicate the party making it,the party against whom the claim is broughtand the subject of the dispute. It must also, asfar as possible, specify the provision on whichthe applicant founds the jurisdiction of theCourt, state the precise nature of the claimand give a succinct statement of the facts andgrounds on which the claim is based, thesefacts and grounds being developed in the Me-morial, to which the evidence will be annexed.

3. The original of an application shall besigned either by the agent of the party sub-mitting it or by the diplomatic representativeof that party at the seat of the Court or bya duly authorized person. If the document bearsthe signature of a person other than the diplo-matic representative of that party at the seatof the Court, the signature must be legalizedby this diplomatic representative or by thecompetent authority of the government con-cerned.


by means of an application, the Registrar shallforthwith transmit to the party against whomthe claim is made a copy of the applicationcertified as correct.

2. When a case is brought before the Courtby means of a special agreement filed by oneonly of the parties, the Registrar shall forth-with notify the other party that it has beenso filed.

Article 341. The Registrar shall forthwith transmit to

all the members of the Court copies of specialagreements or applications submitting a caseto the Court.

1 On May 6th, 1946, the Court took note of the

Resolution of the Permanent Court of Interna-tional Justice regarding that Court's judicial prac-tice adopted on February 20th, 1931, and revisedon March 17th, 1936. (See Publications of the Per-manent Court of International Justice: Acts andDocuments concerning the Organization of theCourt; Series D., No. 1, Fourth edition, April 1940,p. 62.) It decided to adopt provisionally the methodof deliberation described in that Resolution.


2. He shall also transmit copies : (a) to Mem-bers of the United Nations through the Secre-tary-General and (6), by means of specialarrangements made for this purpose betweenthem and the Registrar, to any other Statesentitled to appear before the Court.


by means of a special agreement, the appoint-ment of the agent or agents of the party orparties filing the special agreement shall benotified at the same time as the special agree-ment is filed. If the special agreement is filedby one only of the parties, the other partyshall, when acknowledging receipt of the noti-fication of the filing of the special agreementor failing this, as soon as possible, inform theCourt of the name of its agent.

2. When a case is brought before the Courtby means of an application, the application, orthe covering letter, shall state the name of theagent of the applicant government.

3. The party against whom the applicationis made and to whom it is notified shall, whenacknowledging receipt of the notification, orfailing this, as soon as possible, inform theCourt of the name of its agent.

4. Applications to intervene under Article 64of these Rules, interventions under Article 66and requests under Article 78 for the revision,or under Article 79 for the interpretation, of ajudgment, shall similarly be accompanied bythe appointment of an agent.

5. The appointment of an agent must be ac-companied by a statement of an address forservice at the seat of the Court to which allcommunications relating to the case should besent.

Article 86When a State which is not a party to the

Statute is admitted by the Security Council, inpursuance of Article 35 of the Statute, to ap-pear before the Court, it shall satisfy theCourt that it has complied with any conditionsthat may have been prescribed for its admis-sion: the document which evidences this com-pliance shall be filed in the Registry at thesame time as the notification of the appoint-ment of the agent.

Preliminary measuresArticle 37

1. In every case submitted to the Court, thePresident will ascertain the views of the par-ties with regard to questions of procedure; forthis purpose he may summon the agents tomeet him as soon as they have been appointed.

2. In the light of the information obtainedby the President, the Court will make the nec-essary orders to determine inter alia the num-ber and the order of filing of the pleadingsand the time-limits within which they must befiled.

3. So far as possible, in making an orderunder paragraph 2 of this Article, any agree-

ment between the parties shall be taken intoaccount.

4. The Court may extend any time-limitwhich has been fixed. It may also, in specialcircumstances and after giving the agent ofthe opposing party an opportunity of statinghis views, decide that any step taken afterthe expiration of a time-limit shall be consid-ered as valid.

5. If the Court is not sitting, its powersunder this Article shall be exercised by thePresident but without prejudice to any subse-quent decision of the Court.

Article 38Time-limits shall be fixed by assigning defi-

nite dates for the completion of the varioussteps in the proceedings.

Written ProceedingsArticle 39

1. If the parties agree that the proceedingsshall be conducted wholly in French, or whollyin English, the pleadings shall be submittedonly in the language adopted by the parties.

2. In the absence of an agreement with re-gard to the language to be used, the pleadingsshall be submitted either in French or inEnglish.

3. If in pursuance of Article 39, paragraph3, of the Statute a language other than Frenchor English is used, a translation into Frenchor English shall be attached to the originalof each document submitted.

4. The Registrar is under no obligation tomake translations of the pleadings or any docu-ments annexed thereto.

Article 401

1. The original of every pleading shall besigned by the agent and filed in the Registry.It shall be accompanied by a number of printedcopies fixed by the President but without preju-dice to an increase in that number should theneed arise later.

2. When communicating a copy of a pleadingto a party in pursuance of Article 43 of theStatute, the Registrar shall certify that it isa correct copy of the original filed in theRegistry.

3. All pleadings shall be dated. When a plead-ing has to be filed by a certain date, it is thedate of the receipt of the pleading in the Reg-istry which will be regarded by the Court asthe material date.

4. If the Registrar at the request of theagent of a party arranges for the printing, atthe cost of that party, of a pleading which itis intended to file with the Court, the text mustbe sent to the Registry in sufficient time toenable the printed pleading to be filed beforethe expiry of any time-limit which may applyto it. The printing is done under the responsi-bility of the party in question.

1 The agents of the parties are requested toascertain from the Registry the usual format ofthe pleadings.


5. The correction of a slip or error in anydocument which has been filed can be made atany time with the consent of the other party,or by leave of the President.

Article 411. If proceedings are instituted by means

of a special agreement, the pleadings shall,subject to Article 37 of these Rules, be pre-sented in the order stated below:

a Memorial, by each party within the sametime-limit;

a Counter-Memorial, by each party withinthe same time-limit;

a Reply, by each party within the sametime-limit.2. If proceedings are instituted by means of

an application, the pleadings shall, subject toArticle 37 of these Rules, be presented in theorder stated below:

the Memorial by the applicant;the Counter-Memorial by the respondent;the Reply by the applicant;the Rejoinder by the respondent.

Article 421. A Memorial shall contain a statement of

the relevant facts, a statement of law, and thesubmissions.

2. A Counter-Memorial shall contain an ad-mission or denial of the facts stated in theMemorial; any additional facts, if necessary;observations concerning the statement of lawin the Memorial; a statement of law in answerthereto; and the submissions.

Article 431. There must be annexed to every Memorial

and Counter-Memorial and other pleadings, cop-ies of all the relevant documents, a list ofwhich shall be given after the submissions. If,on account of the length of a document, ex-tracts only are attached, the document itselfor a complete copy of it must, if possible, unlessthe document has been published and is avail-able to the public, be communicated to theRegistrar for the use of the Court and of theother party.

2. Every pleading and every document an-nexed which is in a language other than Frenchor English, must be accompanied by a transla-tion into one of the official languages of theCourt. Nevertheless, in the case of lengthydocuments, translations or extracts may besubmitted, subject, however, to any subsequentdecision by the Court, or, if it is not sitting,by the President.

Article 441. The Registrar shall transmit to the judges

and to the parties copies of the pleadings anddocuments annexed in the case, as and whenhe receives them.

2. The Court, or the President if the Courtis not sitting, may, after obtaining the views

of the parties, decide that the Registrar shallin a particular case make the pleadings andannexed documents available to the govern-ment of any Member of the United Nations orof any State which is entitled to appear beforethe Court.

3. The Court, or the President if the Courtis not sitting, may, with the consent of theparties, authorize the pleadings and annexeddocuments in regard to a particular case to bemade accessible to the public before the ter-mination of the case.

Article 45Upon the closure of the written proceedings,

the case is ready for hearings.

Article 461. Subject to the priority provided for by

Article 61 of these Rules, cases submitted tothe Court will be taken in the order in whichthey become ready for hearing. When severalcases are ready for hearing, the order in whichthey will be taken is determined by the posi-tion which they occupy in the General List.

2. Nevertheless, the Court may, in specialcircumstances, decide to take a case in priorityto other cases which are ready for hearingand which precede it in the General List.

3. If the parties to a case which is readyfor hearing are agreed in asking for the caseto be put after other cases which are ready forhearing and which follow it in the GeneralList, the President may grant such a post-ponement : if the parties are not in agreement,the President shall decide whether or not tosubmit the question to the Court.

Oral ProceedingsArticle 47

1. When a case is ready for hearing, the datefor the commencement of the oral proceedingsshall be fixed by the Court, or by the Presi-dent if the Court is not sitting.

2. If occasion should arise, the Court or thePresident, if the Court is not sitting, may de-cide that the commencement or continuanceof the hearings shall be postponed.

Article 481. After the closure of the written proceed-

ings no further documents may be submittedto the Court by either party except with theconsent of the other party or as provided inparagraph 2 of this Article. The party desiringto produce a new document shall file the orig-inal or a certified copy thereof in the Registry,which will be responsible for communicating itto the other party and will inform the Court.The other party shall be held to have givenits consent if it does not lodge an objection tothe production of the document.

2. Should the other party decline to consentto the production of a new document, theCourt, after hearing the parties, may eitherpermit or refuse to permit its production. If


the Court grants permission, the other partyshall have an opportunity of commenting uponit and of submitting documents in support ofits comments.

Article 49Without prejudice to the provisions of the

Rules concerning the production of documents,each party shall communicate to the Registry,in sufficient time before the commencement ofthe oral proceedings, information regardingthe evidence which it intends to produce orwhich it intends to request the Court to obtain.This communication shall contain a list of thesurnames, first names, descriptions and placesof residence of the witnesses and experts whomthe party intends to call, with indications ingeneral terms of the point or points to whichtheir evidence will be directed.

Article 50The Court shall determine whether the par-

ties should present their arguments before orafter the production of the evidence; the par-ties shall, however, retain the right to com-ment on the evidence given.

Article 51The order in which the agents, counsel or

advocates shall be called upon to speak shallbe determined by the Court, unless there isan agreement between the parties on the sub-ject.

Article 521. The Court may, during the hearing, put

questions to the agents, counsel and advocates,and may ask them for explanations.

2. Each judge has a similar right to putquestions, but before exercising it he shouldmake his intention known to the President, whois made responsible by Article 45 of the Stat-ute for the control of the hearing.

3. The agents, counsel and advocates shallbe at liberty to answer immediately or at alater date.

Article 531. Witnesses and experts shall be examined

by the agents, counsel or advocates of theparties under the control of the President.Questions may be put to them by the Presidentand by the judges.

2. Each witness shall make the followingdeclaration before giving his evidence inCourt :

"I solemnly declare upon my honour andconscience that I will speak the truth, thewhole truth and nothing but the truth."3. Each expert shall make the following dec-

laration before making his statement in Court :"I solemnly declare upon my honour and

conscience that my statement will be in ac-cordance with my sincere belief."

Article 54The Court may request the parties to call

witnesses or experts, or may call for the pro-

duction of any other evidence on points of factin regard to which the parties are not in agree-ment. If need be, the Court shall apply theprovisions of Article 44 of the Statute.

Article 55Witnesses or experts who appear at the in-

stance of the Court shall be paid out of thefunds of the Court,

Article 56The Court, or the President if the Court is

not sitting, shall, at the request of one of theparties or on its own initiative, take the nec-essary steps for the examination of witnessesor experts otherwise than before the Courtitself.

Article 571. If the Court considers it necessary to ar-

range for an enquiry or an expert opinion, itshall, after duly hearing the parties, issue anorder to this effect, defining the subject ofthe enquiry or expert opinion, and stating thenumber and mode of appointment of the per-sons to hold the enquiry or of the experts andthe procedure to be followed.

2. Every report or record of an enquiry andevery expert opinion shall be communicated tothe parties.

3. At any stage in the proceedings beforethe termination of the hearing, the Court may,either proprio motu, or at the request of oneof the parties communicated as provided inArticle 49 of these Rules, request a publicinternational organization, pursuant to Article34 of the Statute, to furnish information rele-vant to a ease before it. The Court shall decidewhether such information shall be presentedto it orally or in writing.

4. When a public international organizationsees fit to furnish, on its own initiative, in-formation relevant to a case before the Court,it shall do so in the form of a Memorial to befiled in the Registry before the closure of thewritten proceedings. The Court shall retainthe right to require such information to besupplemented, either orally or in writing, inthe form of answers to any questions whichit may see fit to formulate, and also to author-ize the parties to comment in writing on theinformation thus furnished.

5. In the circumstances contemplated byArticle 34, paragraph 3, of the Statute, theRegistrar, on the instructions of the Court,or of the President if the Court is not sitting,shall proceed as prescribed in that paragraph.The Court, or the President if the Court isnot sitting, shall, as from the date on whichthe Registrar has communicated copies of thewritten proceedings, fix a time-limit withinwhich the public international organizationconcerned may submit to the Court its observa-tions in writing. These observations shall becommunicated to the parties and may be dis-cussed by them and by the representative ofthe said organization during the oral proceed-ings.


Article 581. In the absence of any decision to the con-

trary by the Court, or by the President if theCourt is not sitting at the time when the deci-sion has to be made, speeches or statementsmade before the Court in one of the officiallanguages shall be translated into the otherofficial language; the same rule shall apply inregard to questions and answers. The Regis-trar shall make the necessary arrangementsfor this purpose.

2. Whenever, in accordance with Article 39,paragraph 3, of the Statute, a language otherthan French or English is used, the necessaryarrangements for translation into one of thetwo official languages shall be made by theparty concerned: the evidence of witnessesand the statements of experts shall, however,be translated under the supervision of theCourt. In the case of witnesses or experts whoappear at the instance of the Court, arrange-ments for translation shall be made by theRegistry.

3. The persons making the translations re-ferred to in the preceding paragraph shallmake the following declaration in Court:

"I solemnly declare upon my honour andconscience that my translation will be acomplete and faithful rendering of what Iam called upon to translate."

Article 591. The minutes mentioned in Article 47 of

the Statute shall include:the names of the judges present;the names of the agents, counsel or advo-

cates present;the surnames, first names, description and

residence of witnesses and experts heard;a brief record of the evidence produced at

the hearing;declarations made on behalf of the parties;a brief record of questions put to the par-

ties by the President or by the judges;any decisions delivered or announced by

the Court during the hearing.2. The minutes of public sittings shall be

printed and published.

Article 601. At each hearing held by the Court, a

shorthand note shall be made under the super-vision of the Registrar of the oral proceedings,including the evidence taken, and shall beappended to the minutes referred to in Article59 of the present Rules. This note, unless it isotherwise decided by the Court, shall containany interpretations from one official languageinto the other made in Court by the interpre-ters.

2. A transcript of the evidence of each wit-ness or expert shall be made available to himin order that mistakes may be corrected underthe supervision of the Court.

3. A transcript of speeches or declarationsmade by agents, counsel or advocates shall bemade available to them for correction or revi-sion, under the supervision of the Court.

II. Occasional RulesInterim Protection

Article 611. A request for the indication of interim

measures of protection may be filed at anytime during the proceedings in the case in con-nection with which it is made. The requestshall specify the case to which it relates, therights to be protected and the interim measuresof which the indication is proposed.

2. A request for the indication of interimmeasures of protection shall have priority overall other cases. The decision thereon shall betreated as a matter of urgency.

3. If the Court is not sitting, the membersshall be convened by the President forthwith.Pending the meeting of the Court and a deci-sion by it, the President shall, if need be, takesuch measures as may appear to him necessaryin order to enable the Court to give an effectivedecision.

4. The Court may indicate interim measuresof protection other than those proposed in therequest.

5. The rejection of a request for the indi-cation of interim measures of protection shallnot prevent the party which has made it frommaking a fresh request in the same case basedon new facts.

6. The Court may indicate interim measuresof protection proprio motu. If the Court is notsitting, the President may convene the mem-bers in order to submit to the Court the ques-tion whether it is expedient to indicate suchmeasures.

7. The Court may at any time by reason ofa change in the situation revoke or modify itsdecision indicating interim measures of pro-tection.

8. The Court shall only indicate interimmeasures of protection after giving the partiesan opportunity of presenting their observa-tions on the subject. The same rule applieswhen the Court revokes or modifies a decisionindicating such measures.

Preliminary ObjectionsArticle 62

1. A preliminary objection must be filed bya party at the latest before the expiry of thetime-limit fixed for the delivery of its firstpleading.

2. The preliminary objection shall set outthe facts and the law on which the objectionis based, the submissions and a list of the docu-ments in support; these documents shall beattached; it shall mention any evidence whichthe party may desire to produce.


3. Upon receipt by the Registrar of a pre-liminary objection filed by a party, the proceed-ings on the merits shall be suspended and theCourt, or the President if the Court is not sit-ting, shall fix the time-limit within which theother party may present a written statementof its observations and submissions; documentsin support shall be attached and evidence whichit is proposed to produce shall be mentioned.

4. Unless otherwise decided by the Court,the further proceedings shall be oral.

5. After hearing the parties the Court shallgive its decision on the objection or shall jointhe objection to the merits. If the Court over-rules the objection or joins it to the merits, itshall once more fix time-limits for the furtherproceedings.

Counter-claimsArticle 63

When proceedings have been instituted bymeans of an application, a counter-claim maybe presented in the submissions of the Counter-Memorial, provided that such counter-claim isdirectly connected with the subject-matter ofthe application and that it comes within thejurisdiction of the Court. In the event of doubtas to the connection between the question pre-sented by way of counter-claim and the sub-ject-matter of the application the Court shall,after due examination, direct whether or notthe question thus presented shall be joined tothe original proceedings.

InterventionArticle 64

1. An application for permission to inter-vene under the terms of Article 62 of theStatute shall be filed in the Registry at latestbefore the commencement of the oral proceed-ings.

2. The application shall contain :a description of the case;a statement of law and of fact justifying

intervention; anda list of the documents in support of the

application; these documents shall be at-tached.3. The application shall be communicated to

the parties, who shall send to the Registry theirobservations in writing within a time-limit tobe fixed by the Court, or by the President, ifthe Court is not sitting.

4. The Registrar shall also transmit copiesof the application for permission to intervene :(a) to Members of the United Nations throughthe Secretary-General and (b), by means ofspecial arrangements made for this purposebetween them and the Registrar, to any otherStates entitled to appear before the Court.

5. The application to intervene shall beplaced on the agenda for a hearing, the dateand hour of which shall be notified to all con-

cerned. Nevertheless, if the parties have not,in their written observations, opposed the ap-plication to intervene, the Court may decidethat there shall be no oral argument.

6. The Court will give its decision on theapplication in the form of a judgment.

Article 651. If the Court admits the intervention and

if the party intervening expresses a desire tofile a Memorial on the merits, the Court shallfix the time-limits within which the Memorialshall be filed and within which the other partiesmay reply by Counter-Memorials; the samecourse shall be followed in regard to the Replyand the Rejoinder. If the Court is not sitting,the time-limits shall be fixed by the President.

2. If the Court has not yet given its decisionupon the intervention and the application tointervene is not opposed, the President, if theCourt is not sitting, may, without prejudice tothe decision of the Court on the questionwhether the application should be granted, fixthe time-limits within which the interveningparty may file a Memorial on the merits andthe other parties may reply by Counter-Memorials.

3. In the cases referred to in the two preced-ing paragraphs, the time-limits shall, so far aspossible, coincide with those already fixed inthe case.

Article 661. A State which desires to avail itself of the

right conferred upon it by Article 63 of theStatute shall file in the Registry a declarationto that effect. This declaration may be filed bya State even though it has not received thenotification referred to in that Article.

2. Such declarations shall be communicatedto the parties. If any objection or doubt shouldarise as to whether the intervention is admis-sible under Article 63 of the Statute, the deci-sion shall rest with the Court.

3. The Registrar shall also transmit copiesof the declarations: (a) to Members of theUnited Nations through the Secretary-Generaland (b), by means of special arrangementsmade for this purpose between them and theRegistrar, to any other States entitled to ap-pear before the Court.

4. The Registrar shall take the necessarysteps to enable the intervening party to inspectthe documents in the case in so far as theyrelate to the interpretation of the conventionin question, and to submit its written observa-tions thereon to the Court within a time-limitto be fixed by the Court or by the President ifthe Court is not sitting.

5. These observations shall be communicatedto the other parties and may be discussed bythem in the course of the oral proceedings; inthese proceedings the intervening party shalltake part.


Appeals to the CourtArticle 67

1. When an appeal is made to the Courtagainst a decision given by some other tribu-nal, the proceedings before the Court shall begoverned by the provisions of the Statute andof these Rules.

2. If the document instituting the appealmust be filed within a certain limit of time, thedate of the receipt of this document in the Reg-istry will be taken by the Court as the materialdate.

3. The document instituting the appeal shallcontain a precise statement of the grounds ofthe objections to the decision complained of,and these constitute the subject of the disputereferred to the Court.

4. A certified copy of the decision complainedof shall be attached to the document institutingthe appeal.

5. It is incumbent upon the parties to pro-duce before the Court any useful and relevantmaterial upon which the decision complainedof was rendered.

Settlement and discontinuanceArticle 68

If at any time before judgment has beendelivered, the parties conclude an agreement asto the settlement of the dispute and so informthe Court in writing, or by mutual agreementinform the Court in writing that they are notgoing on with the proceedings, the Court, orthe President if the Court is not sitting, shallmake an order officially recording the conclu-sion of the settlement or the discontinuance ofthe proceedings; in either case the order shalldirect the removal of the case from the list.

Article 691. If in the course of proceedings instituted

by means of an application, the applicant in-forms the Court in writing that it is not goingon with the proceedings, and if, at the date onwhich this communication is received by theRegistry, the respondent has not yet taken anystep in the proceedings, the Court, or the Presi-dent if the Court is not sitting, will make anorder officially recording the discontinuance ofthe proceedings and directing the removal ofthe case from the list. A copy of this order shallbe sent by the Registrar to the respondent.

2. If, at the time when the notice of discon-tinuance is received, the respondent has al-ready taken some step in the proceedings, theCourt, or the President if the Court is not sit-ting, shall fix a time-limit within which therespondent must state whether it opposes thediscontinuance of the proceedings. If no objec-tion is made to the discontinuance before theexpiration of the time-limit, acquiescence willbe presumed and the Court, or the President ifthe Court is not sitting, will make an orderofficially recording the discontinuance of theproceedings and directing the removal of thecase from the list. If objection is made, theproceedings shall continue.

Section 2 — Procedure Before the ChambersArticle 70

Procedure before the Chambers mentionedin Articles 26 and 29 of the Statute shall, sub-ject to the provisions of the Statute and ofthese Rules relating to the Chambers and toany special rules which the Court may make,be governed by the provisions relating to pro-cedure before the Court.

Article 711. When it is desired that a case should be

dealt with by one of the Chambers which hasbeen formed in pursuance of Article 26, para-graph 1, or Article 29 of the Statute, a requestto this effect should either be made in the doc-ument instituting the proceedings or accom-pany it. Effect will be given to the request ifthe parties are in agreement.

2. Upon receipt by the Registry of this re-quest, the President of the Court shall commu-nicate it to the members of the Chamber con-cerned. He shall take such steps as may benecessary to give effect to the provisions ofArticle 31, paragraph 4, of the Statute.

3. A request for the formation of a Chamberto deal with a particular case as provided forin Article 26, paragraph 2, of the Statute, canbe filed at any moment until the closure of thewritten proceedings. Upon receipt of such arequest by the Registry, the President shallascertain whether the other party assents.When both parties have assented, the Presi-dent shall ascertain the views of the parties asto the number of judges to constitute theChamber. The Court shall decide upon the re-quest for the formation of a Chamber in accor-dance with Article 26, paragraphs 2 and 3, ofthe Statute and Article 24, paragraphs 2 and5, of these Rules.

4. The President of the Court shall convenethe Chamber at the earliest date compatiblewith the requirements of the procedure.

5. As soon as the Chamber has met to beginthe hearing of the case submitted to it, thepowers of the President of the Court shall beexercised in respect of the case by the Presi-dent of the Chamber.

Article 721. The procedure before the Chamber for

Summary Procedure shall consist of two parts :written and oral.

2. If the proceedings are instituted bymeans of a special agreement, the written pro-ceedings shall consist of a single pleading byeach party, filed within the same time-limit,the documents in support being annexed. If theproceedings are instituted by means of an ap-plication, the written proceedings shall consistof similar pleadings filed in turn, first by theapplicant and secondly by the respondent with-in the time-limits fixed by the President of theChamber. The Chamber may, nevertheless,whatever may be the method of instituting the


proceedings, if the parties so request, permitthe filing of further pleadings; if the Chamberupon its own initiative considers any furtherpleading to be necessary it may, after hearingthe parties, direct that it should be filed.

3. The pleadings shall be communicated bythe Registrar to the members of the Chamberand to the opposite party. They shall mentionall evidence, other than the documents referredto in the preceding paragraph, which the par-ties desire to produce.

4. When the case is ready for hearing, thePresident of the Chamber shall fix a date forthe opening of the oral proceedings, unless theparties agree to dispense with them; even ifthere are no oral proceedings, the Chambershall retain the right to call upon the partiesto supply oral explanations.

5. Witnesses or experts whose names arementioned in the written proceedings must beavailable so as to appear before the Chamberwhen their presence is required.

Article 73Judgments given by a Chamber will be read

at a public sitting of that Chamber.

Section 3—Judgments

Article 741. The judgment shall contain:

a statement whether it has been deliveredby the Court or by a Chamber;

the date on which it is delivered;the names of the judges participating;the names of the parties;the names of the agents of the parties;a summary of the proceedings;the submissions of the parties;a statement of the facts;the reasons in point of law;the operative provisions of the judgment;the decision, if any, in regard to costs;the number of the judges constituting the

majority.2. Any judge may, if he so desires, attach

his individual opinion to the judgment, wheth-er he dissents from the majority or not, or abare statement of his dissent.

Article 751. When the judgment has been read in pub-

lic, one original copy, duly signed and sealed,shall be placed in the Archives of the Court andanother shall be forwarded to each of theparties.

2. A copy of the judgment shall be sent bythe Registrar to Members of the United Na-tions and to States entitled to appear beforethe Court.

Article 76The judgment shall become binding on the

parties on the day on which it is read in openCourt.

Article 77The party in whose favour an order for the

payment of the costs has been made shall pre-sent his bill of costs within ten days after thejudgment has been delivered. The Court shalldecide any dispute concerning the bill.

Section 4—Requests for the Revision orInterpretation of a Judgment

Article 781. A request for the revision of a judgment

shall be made by an application.The application shall state the judgment of

which the revision is desired, and shall containthe particulars necessary to show that the con-ditions laid down by Article 61 of the Statuteare fulfilled, and a list of the documents insupport; these documents shall be attached tothe application.

2. The request for revision shall be commu-nicated by the Registrar to the other parties.The latter may submit observations within atime-limit to be fixed by the Court, or by thePresident if the Court is not sitting.

3. If the Court admits the application for arevision, it will determine the written proce-dure required for examining the merits of theapplication.

4. If the Court makes the admission of theapplication conditional upon previous compli-ance with the judgment to be revised, this con-dition shall be communicated forthwith to theapplicant by the Registrar and proceedings inrevision shall be stayed pending receipt by theCourt of proof of compliance with the judg-ment.

Article 791. A request to the Court to interpret a

judgment which it has given may be madeeither by the notification of a special agree-ment between the parties or by an applicationby one or more of the parties.

2. The special agreement or application shallstate the judgment of which an interpretationis requested and shall specify the precise pointor points in dispute.

3. If the request for interpretation is madeby means of an application, the Registrar shallcommunicate the application to the other par-ties, and the latter may submit observationswithin a time-limit to be fixed by the Court, orby the President if the Court is not sitting.

4. Whether the request be made by specialagreement or by application, the Court may in-vite the parties to furnish further written ororal explanations.

Article 80If the judgment to be revised or to be inter-

preted was given by the Court, the request forits revision or interpretation shall be dealtwith by the Court. If the judgment was givenby one of the Chambers mentioned in Articles26 or 29 of the Statute, the request for its revi-sion or interpretation shall be dealt with bythe same Chamber.


Article 81The decision of the Court on requests for

revision or interpretation shall be given in theform of a judgment.

HEADING IIIADVISORY OPINIONS

Article 821. In proceedings in regard to advisory opin-

ions, the Court shall, in addition to the provi-sions of Article 96 of the Charter and ChapterIV of the Statute, apply the provisions of theArticles which follow. It shall also be guidedby the provisions of these Rules which applyin contentious cases to the extent to which itrecognizes them to be applicable; for this pur-pose it shall above all consider whether therequest for the advisory opinion relates to alegal question actually pending between twoor more States.

2. If the Court is of the opinion that a re-quest for an advisory opinion necessitates anearly answer, it shall take the necessary stepsto accelerate the procedure.

Article 83If the advisory opinion is requested upon a

legal question actually pending between two ormore States, Article 31 of the Statute shallapply, as also the provisions of these Rulesconcerning the application of that Article.

Article 841. Advisory opinions shall be given after de-

liberation by the Court. They shall mention thenumber of judges constituting the majority.

2. Any judge may, if he so desires, attachhis individual opinion to the advisory opinionof the Court, whether he dissents from themajority or not, or a bare statement of hisdissent.

Article 851. The Registrar will in due time inform the

Secretary-General of the United Nations andthe appropriate organ of the institution, ifany, which requested the advisory opinion, asto the date and the hour fixed for the sittingto be held for the reading of the opinion.

2. One original copy of the advisory opinion,duly signed and sealed, shall be placed in thearchives of the Court and another shall be sentto the Secretariat of the United Nations. Cer-tified copies shall be sent by the Registrar toMembers of the United Nations and to theStates, specialized agencies and public inter-national organizations directly concerned.

Done at The Hague, this sixth day of Maynineteen hundred and forty-six.

(Signed) J. G. GUERRERO,President.

(Signed) E. HAMBRO,Registrar.

ANNEX II.STATES ACCEPTING COMPULSORY JURISDICTION

AUSTRALIA

Date of Signature: August 21, 1940.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: August 21, 1945, and there-

after until such time as notice of terminationmay be given.

Conditions: Effective without special conven-tion on condition of reciprocity over all dis-putes arising after August 18, 1930 (date ofratification of previous declaration by Austra-lia) with regard to situations or facts subse-quent to that date other than :

1) disputes in regard to which the partiesto the dispute have agreed or shall agree tohave recourse to some other method ofpeaceful settlement;

2) disputes with the Government of anyother Member of the League of Nationswhich is a Member of the British Common-wealth of Nations, all of which disputes shallbe settled in such a manner as the partieshave agreed or shall agree;

3) disputes with regard to questions whichby international law fall exclusively withinthe jurisdiction of the Commonwealth ofAustralia;

4) subject to the condition that His Maj-esty's Government in the Commonwealth ofAustralia reserve the right to require thatproceedings in the Court shall be suspendedin respect of any dispute which has been sub-mitted to the Council of the League ofNations;

5) disputes arising out of events occur-ring at a time when His Majesty's Govern-ment in the Commonwealth of Australiawere involved in hostilities.

CANADADate of Signature: September 20, 1929.Date of Deposit of Ratification: July 28,

1930.Effective Until: July 28, 1940, and thereafter

until such time as notice may be given of ter-mination.

Conditions: Effective without special con-vention on condition of reciprocity in all dis-putes arising after ratification and with regardto situations or facts subsequent to said ratifi-cation other than:

1) disputes in regard to which the partiesto the dispute have agreed or shall agree tohave recourse to some other method of peace-ful settlement;


2) disputes with the Government of anyother Member of the League of Nationswhich is a member of the British Common-wealth of Nations, all of which disputes shallbe settled in such manner as the parties haveagreed or shall agree;

3) disputes with regard to questions whichby international law fall exclusively withinthe jurisdiction of the Dominion of Canada;

4) subject to the condition that His Maj-esty's Government in Canada reserve theright to require that proceedings in theCourt shall be suspended in respect of anydispute which has been submitted to and isunder consideration by the Council of theLeague of Nations;

5) disputes arising out of events occur-ring during the present war. (Notificationof December 8, 1939).

CHINADate of Signature : October 26, 1946.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: 1951 and thereafter until

the expiration of a six months' notice of ter-mination.

Conditions: In relation to any State whichaccepts the same obligation.

COLOMBIADate of Signature: January 6, 1932.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: Indefinite.Conditions: Effective without special agree-

ment, on condition of reciprocity, in relation toany other State accepting the same obligationin all disputes arising out of facts subsequentto January 6, 1932.

DENMARKDate of Signature: December 10, 1946.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: December 10, 1956.Conditions: In relation to any other State

accepting the same obligation.

DOMINICAN REPUBLICDate of Signature: September 30, 1924.Date of Deposit of Ratification: February 4,

1933.Effective Until: Indefinite.Conditions: Effective without special conven-

tion in relation to any other State acceptingthe same obligation.

EL SALVADORDate of Signature: December 18, 1920.Date of Deposit of Ratification : The declara-

tion came into force on August 29, 1930, whenthe Government of El Salvador deposited theratification of the Protocol of Signature of theStatute of the Permanent Court.

Effective Until: Indefinite.Conditions: Excluded from the declaration

are:1) disputes or differences concerning

points or questions which cannot be submit-ted to arbitration in accordance with thepolitical Constitution of El Salvador;

2) disputes which arose before the cominginto force of the declaration;

3) pecuniary claims made against theNations.

FRANCEDate of Signature: February 18, 1947.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Ratification

not yet been received.Effective Until: Five years after date of rat-

ification and thereafter until notice of termi-nation.

Conditions: Effective without special agree-ment in relation to any other State acceptingthe same obligation for all disputes which mayarise in respect of facts or situations subse-quent to ratification of the present declarationwith the exception of:

1) disputes with regard to which the par-ties may have agreed or may agree to haverecourse to another form of peaceful settle-ment;

2) differences relating to matters whichare essentially within the national jurisdic-tion as understood by the Government of theFrench Republic.

GUATEMALADate of Signature: January 27, 1947.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: January 27, 1952.Conditions: Effective in relation to any other

State accepting the same obligation in all legaldisputes, except the dispute between Englandand Guatemala concerning the restoration ofthe territory of Belize, which the Governmentof Guatemala would agree to submit to thejudgment of the Court, if the case were decidedex oequo et bono in accordance with Article 38,paragraph 2 of the Statute of the Court.

HAITIDate of Signature: September 7, 1921.Date of Ratification: Not required.Effective Until: Indefinite.Conditions : Unconditional.

INDIADate of Signature: February 28, 1940.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: February 28, 1945, and

thereafter until such time as notice may begiven to terminate the acceptance.

Conditions: Effective without special conven-tion on condition of reciprocity over all dis-putes arising after February 5, 1930 (date ofratification of previous declaration by India)


with regard to situations or facts subsequentto that date other than :


2) disputes with the government of anyother Member of the League of Nationswhich is a member of the British Common-wealth of Nations, all of which disputes shallbe settled in such manner as the partieshave agreed or shall agree;

3) disputes with regard to questions whichby international law fall exclusively withinthe jurisdiction of India;

4) subject to the condition that the Gov-ernment of India reserve the right to requirethat proceedings in the Court shall be sus-pended in respect of any dispute which hasbeen submitted to and is under considerationby the Council of the League of Nations;

5) disputes arising out of events occur-ring at a time when the Government of Indiawere involved in hostilities.

IRANDate of Signature : October 2, 1930.Date of Deposit of Ratification: September

19 1932Effective Until: September 19, 1938, and

thereafter until notification is given of itsabrogation.

Conditions: Effective without special agree-ment in relation to any other State acceptingthe same obligation in any disputes arisingwith regard to situations or facts relatingdirectly or indirectly to the application oftreaties or conventions accepted by Persia withthe exception of:

1) disputes relating to the territorialstatus of Persia, including those concerningthe rights of sovereignty of Persia over itsislands and ports;

2) disputes in regard to which the partieshave agreed or shall agree to have recourseto some other method of peaceful settlement;

3) disputes with regard to questionswhich, by international law, fall exclusivelywithin the jurisdiction of Persia,

4) subject to the condition that Persia re-serves the right to require that proceedingsin the Court shall be suspended in respect ofany dispute which has been submitted to theCouncil of the League of Nations.

LUXEMBOURGDate of Signature: September 15, 1930.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: September 15, 1935. Unless

denounced six months before the expiration ofthat period, it shall be considered as renewedfor a further period of five years and similarlythereafter.

Conditions: Effective without special agree-ments in relation to any State accepting the

same obligation in any dispute arising afterthe signature of the present declaration withregard to situations or facts subsequent to thissignature, except in cases where the partieshave agreed or shall agree to have recourseto another procedure or to another method ofpacific settlement.

MEXICOBy letter of February 18, 1947, the Mexican

Government informed the Secretary-Generalthat the Mexican Government had decided toask for Federal Legislature for constitutionalapproval of the recognition by Mexico, as fromMarch 1, 1947, of the jurisdiction of the Inter-national Court of Justice in accordance withthe provisions of Article 36, paragraph 2, ofthe Statute of the Court. If the Mexican Sen-ate approved the measure, the Mexican Gov-ernment would forward the declaration. As ofJune 30, 1947, no declaration had been receivedfrom the Mexican Government.

NETHERLANDSDate of Signature: August 5, 1946.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: August 6, 1956, and subse-

quently until notice of abrogation.Conditions: Without special agreement in

relation to any other State accepting the sameobligation in all future disputes with the excep-tion of those in which the parties have agreed,after the entry into force of the Statute of thePermanent Court of International Justice, tohave recourse to some other method of pacificsettlement.

NEW ZEALANDDate of Signature: April 1, 1940.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: April 1, 1945, and thereafter

until notice may be given to terminate theacceptance.

Conditions: Effective without special conven-tion on condition of reciprocity over all dis-putes arising after March 29, 1930 (date ofratification of a previous declaration by NewZealand) with regard to situations or factssubsequent to that date, other than:


2) disputes with the government of anyother Member of the League of Nationswhich is a member of the British Common-wealth of Nations, all of which disputes shallbe settled in such manner as the parties haveagreed or shall agree;

3) disputes with regard to questions whichby international law fall exclusively withinthe jurisdiction of the Dominion of NewZealand;


4) subject to the condition that His Maj-esty's Government in New Zealand reservethe right to require that proceedings in theCourt shall be suspended in respect of anydispute which has been submitted to andis under consideration by the Council of theLeague of Nations;

5) disputes arising out of events occur-ring at a time when His Majesty's Govern-ment in New Zealand were involved in hos-tilities.

NICARAGUADate of Signature: September 24, 1929.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Declaration

took effect on November 29, 1939, when theNicaraguan Government notified the Secretary-General of the League of Nations of Nica-ragua's ratification of the Protocol of Signa-ture of the Statute of the Permanent Court.

Effective Until : Indefinite.Conditions: Unconditional.

NORWAYDate of Signature: November 16, 1946.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: October 3, 1956.Conditions: Without special agreement in

relation to any other State accepting the sameobligation.

PANAMADate of Signature: October 25, 1921.Date of Deposit of Ratification: June 14,

1929.Effective Until: Indefinite.Conditions : Effective without special conven-

tion in relation to any other State acceptingthe same obligation.

SIAMDate of Signature: September 20, 1929.Date of Deposit of Ratification: May 7, 1930.Effective Until: May 7, 1950.Conditions: Effective without special conven-

tion in relation to any other Member or Statewhich accepted the same obligation in all dis-putes as to which no other means of pacificsettlement is agreed upon between the parties.

SWEDEN

Date of Signature: April 5, 1947.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: April 5, 1957.Conditions: Effective in relation to any other

State accepting the same obligation in all dis-putes which may arise with regard to situ-ations or facts subsequent to this declaration.

TURKEY

Date of Signature: May 22, 1947.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: May 22, 1952.

Conditions: Effective without special agree-ment in relation to any other State acceptingthe same obligation in all disputes which willarise in the future concerning:

1) the interpretation of a treaty;2) any question of international law;3) the existence of any fact, which, if

established, would constitute a breach of aninternational obligation;

4) the nature or extent of the reparationto be made for the breach of an internationalobligation;

with the exception of :1) situations previous to this declaration

and differences which arise therefrom;2) disputes for which it may be possible

to apply, directly or indirectly, agreementsand conventions concluded by Turkey pro-viding for a different method of settlingdisputes.

UNION OF SOUTH AFRICADate of Signature: April 7, 1940.Date of Ratification: Not required.Effective Until: Until such time as notice

may be given to terminate the acceptance.Conditions: Effective without special conven-

tion on condition of reciprocity over all dis-putes arising after April 7, 1930 (date of rati-fication of a previous declaration by SouthAfrica) with regard to situations or facts sub-sequent to that date other than:


2) disputes with the Government of anyother Member of the League of Nationswhich is a member of the British Common-wealth of Nations, all of which disputes shallbe settled in such manners as the partieshave agreed or shall agree;

3) disputes with regard to questions whichby international law fall exclusively withinthe jurisdiction of the Union of SouthAfrica;

4) subject to the condition that His Maj-esty's Government in the Union of SouthAfrica reserve the right to require that pro-ceedings of the Court shall be suspended inrespect of any dispute which has been sub-mitted to and is under consideration by theCouncil of the League of Nations;

5) disputes arising out of events occur-ring during any period in which the Unionof South Africa is engaged in hostilities asa belligerent.

UNITED KINGDOMDate of Signature: February 28, 1940.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: February 28, 1945, and

thereafter until such time as notice may begiven to terminate the acceptance.


Conditions: Effective without special conven-tion on condition of reciprocity over all dis-putes arising after February 5, 1930 (date ofratification of previous declaration by UnitedKingdom) with regard to situations or factssubsequent to that date, other than:


2) disputes with the government of anyother Member of the League of Nationswhich is a member of the British Common-wealth of Nations, all of which disputes shallbe settled in such manner as the parties haveagreed or shall agree;

3) disputes with regard to questions whichby international law fall exclusively withinthe jurisdiction of the United Kingdom;

4) subject to the condition that His Maj-esty's Government reserve the right to re-quire that proceedings in the Court shall besuspended in respect of any dispute whichhas been submitted to and is under con-sideration by the Council of the League ofNations;

5) disputes arising out of events occur-ring at a time when His Majesty's Govern-ment in the United Kingdom were involvedin hostilities.

Additional Declaration byUnited Kingdom Government

Date of Signature: February 13, 1946.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: February 13, 1951.Conditions: Effective without special agree-

ment, in relation to any other State acceptingthe same obligation in all legal disputes con-

cerning the interpretation, application or valid-ity of any treaty relating to the boundaries ofBritish Honduras, and over any questions aris-ing out of any conclusion which the Court mayreach with regard to such treaty.

UNITED STATESDate of Signature: August 14, 1946.Date of Deposit of Ratification: Not re-

quired.Effective Until: August 14, 1951, and there-

after until the expiration of six months afternotice may be given to terminate this decla-ration.

Conditions: In all legal disputes arisingafter the date of signature of the declaration,except :

1) disputes the solution of which the par-ties shall entrust to other tribunals by virtueof agreements already in existence or whichmay be concluded in the future; or

2) disputes with regard to matters whichare essentially within the domestic jurisdic-tion of the United States of America asdetermined by the United States of America;or

3) disputes arising under a multilateraltreaty, unless (1) all parties to the treatyaffected by the decisions are also parties tothe case before the Court, or (2) the UnitedStates of America specifically agrees tojurisdiction.

URUGUAYDate of Signature: January 28, 1921.Date of Deposit of Ratification: September

27, 1921.Effective Until: Indefinite.Conditions: Effective without special conven-

tion in relation to any other State accepting thesame obligation.