Report of the International Court of Justice
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General Assembly A/72/4 Official Records Seventy-second Session Supplement No. 4 Report of the International Court of Justice 1 August 2016-31 July 2017 United Nations New York, 2017 Note Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. ISSN 0251-8473 [5 August 2017] Contents Chapter Page I. Summary ...................................................................... 5 II. Role and jurisdiction of the Court ................................................. 12 III. Organization of the Court ........................................................ 14 A. Composition ............................................................... 14 B. Privileges and immunities .................................................... 17 C. Seat ...................................................................... 17 IV. Registry ....................................................................... 19 V. Judicial activity of the Court ...................................................... 21 A. Pending contentious proceedings during the period under review ................... 21 1. Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia) .......................... 21 2. Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda) ...................................................... 21 3. Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) ............................................................ 23 4. Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile) ........... 24 5. Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia) ............................................................ 25 6. Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia) ................................................ 26 7. Maritime Delimitation in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) ............................................................ 28 8. Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India) ................. 33 9. Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. Pakistan) .............. 35 10. Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. United Kingdom) ........ 37 11. Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) ................. 38 12. Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia) ..... 41 13. Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France) ........... 42 14. Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America) ..... 45 17-14050 3/68 15. Land Boundary in the Northern Part of Isla Portillos (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) .. 47 16. Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) ..................... 49 17. Application for revision of the Judgment of 23 May 2008 in the case concerning Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore) (Malaysia v. Singapore)............................... 54 18. Jadhav Case (India v. Pakistan) .......................................... 55 19. Request for Interpretation of the Judgment of 23 May 2008 in the case concerning Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore) (Malaysia v. Singapore)............................... 57 B. Pending advisory proceedings during the period under review ...................... 58 Legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 ................................................................. 58 VI. Visits to the Court and other activities .............................................. 60 VII. Publications and presentation of the Court to the public ............................... 62 VIII. Finances of the Court ............................................................ 65 Annex International Court of Justice: Organizational structure and post distribution of the Registry as at 31 July 2017............................................................... 67 4/68 17-14050 A/72/4 Chapter I Summary Brief overview of the judicial work of the Court 1. During the period under review, the International Court of Justice once again experienced a particularly high level of activity. Among other things, it delivered judgments in the following cases: (1) Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India), Judgment on the questions of the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the Application (see para. 162); (2) Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. Pakistan), Judgment on the questions of the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the Application (see para. 175); (3) Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. United Kingdom), Judgment on the preliminary objections raised by the Respondent (see para. 185); (4) Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya), Judgment on the preliminary objections raised by the Respondent (see para. 200). 2. The Court or its President also handed down 14 orders. The purpose of 10 of those orders was to fix the time-limits given to the parties for the filing of written pleadings in the following cases (in chronological order): (1) the case concerning Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile) (see para. 104); (2) the case concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda) (see para. 85); (3) the case concerning Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) (see para. 90); (4) the case concerning Land Boundary in the Northern Part of Isla Portillos (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) (see para. 241) — by the same Order, the Court decided to join the proceedings in this case with those in the case concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) (see paras. 242 and 148); (5) the case concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) (see para. 201); (6) the case concerning Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France) (see para. 223); (7) the case concerning Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America) (see para. 232); (8) the case concerning the Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International 17-14050 5/68 A/72/4 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) (see para. 257); (9) the Jadhav Case (India v. Pakistan) (see para. 282); (10) the case concerning Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) (see para. 91). Three were in response to requests for the indication of provisional measures submitted in the following cases (in chronological order): (1) the case concerning Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France) (see para. 221); (2) the case concerning the Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) (see para. 256); (3) the Jadhav Case (India v. Pakistan) (see para. 280). Finally, the Court delivered an Order on the organization of advisory proceedings, and in particular fixed the time limits for the presentation of written statements and written comments on those written statements in: Legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (request for an advisory opinion) (see para. 294). 3. During the same period, the International Court of Justice held public hearings in the following cases (in chronological order): (1) in the case concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya), it held hearings on the preliminary objections raised by Kenya (see paras. 187 to 201); (2) in the case concerning Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France), it held hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Equatorial Guinea (see paras. 210 to 223); (3) in the case concerning the Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation), it held hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Ukraine (see paras. 246 to 257); (4) in the Jadhav Case (India v. Pakistan), it held hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by India (see paras. 267 to 282);