INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE DISPUTE CONCERNING NAVIGATIONAL AND RELATED RIGHTS (COSTA RICA v NICARAGUA) COUNTER - MEMORIAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA VOLUME I 29 May 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ......................~.................................................................................... 1 SECTION1 THE PROCEDUREAND THE JURISDICTIONOF THE COURT........................................................... 1 SECTION2 THEHISTORY AND THE BACKGROUNDOF THE CASE.................................................................. 2 SECTION3 THESCOPE AND THE NATUREOF THE DISPUTE............... ................. .............................................6 SECTION4 THE STRUCTUREOF NICARAGUA'S &X!NI'ER-MEMORIAL .............................................................7 CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND TO THE DISPUTE .......................................................................................9 SECTION1.1 GEOGRAPHYOF THE SANJUAN UE NICARAGUARIVER ................................................................. 9 RESERVES................................................................................................................................ 14 SECTION1.2 THETREATY OF LIMITSOF 1858: HISTORICALBACKGROUND .................................................... 16 A . THESA NJUAN RIVER UNDER SPANISH RULE (1 52 7- 1821).................................................... 18 B . THEPOST-INDEPENDENCE AND FEDERAL PERIOD (1821- 1838) ...................................... 20 C. THEPOST-FEDERAL PERIOD (1838- 1848)............................................................................ 22 D . PERIQD OF INTERNA TIONALIZA TION OF THE DISPUTE .......................................................... 25 E . PERIODOF THE NATIONALANTI-FILIBUSTER WAR (1855-57) .............................................. 29 CONCLusiohrs ........................................................................................................................ 35 SECTION1.3 PRECEDENTSAND SUBSEQUENT PRACTICE RELATED TO TkIE 1858 JEREZ - CARASTREATY ....... 3g A . PRECEDENTS TO THE 1858 TREATY...................................................................................... 39 B . THETREA TI' OF LIMITSOF 15 APRIL1858 ...................... .. .............................................. 47 c. THEPERIOD FROM 1858 TO 1888 .......................................................................................50 D . PERIODSUBSEQUENT TO I888 ............................................................................................ 53 CHAPTER 2 NICARAGUA'S SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE SAN JUAN DE NICARAGUA RIVER ...... 61 SECT~ON2.1 CHARACTER.OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF THE 1858 TREATY......................................................... 61 E. COSTARICA 'S ALLEGED RIGttT TO THE RE-SUPPLY OFAND TRANSPORT OF Ij6'RSONNEL TO AND FROM BORDER POSTS AND "OTHER RLU TED RIGHE" ........................................................ 183 SECTION4.3 COSTA~CA PURPORTS A RIGHT OF NAVIGATION IN THE SANJUAN DE NICAKAGUARIVER THAT IS NOT GRANTED BY THE JEREZ- CANAS TREATYOR BY THE CLEVELANDAWARD ................. I83 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 194 CHAPTER 5 NICARAGUA HAS NOT BREACHED ANY OTHER RIGHTS ALLEGED BY COSTA RICA .................... .. ........ ...... ..............................................197 SECTION5.1 ALLEGEDBREACHES OF AN ALLEGEDCUSTOMARY RIGHT TO FISII ...................................... 197 SECTION 5.2 ALLEGEDBREACHES 01' AN ALLEGEDRIGI.IT TO RE-SUPPLYBORDER POSTS ...........................204 SECTION5.3 ALLEGEDBREACI~ES 0I''rHE ALLEGEDRIGHT OF COSTARICAN VESSELS NOT TO CARRYTFlE FLAGOF NICARAGUAIN THE WATERSOF THE SANJUAN ~VER.............................................. 2 1 CHAPTER 6 COSTA RICA'S RESPONSE TO NICARAGUA'S POLICY OF COOPERATlON AND GOOD NEIGHBOURLJNESS THE ATTEMPTS BY COSTA RICA TO REVISE THE I858 TREATY B Y INDIRECT MEANS .......................... ... ........................................................... ....................................... 213 SECTION 6.1 NICARAGUA'SGENERAL POLICY OF COOPERATION........................................................... 2 13 A. ARMEDNAVIGATION ............................. ., ........................................................................... 21 4 B. PLEASUREBOATING ......................... .. .......................................................................... 224 COMCLUS~........................................................................................................................ 226 SECrION 6.2 NICARAGUA'SFACILITATION OF TRAFFIC ON THE ~VER....................................................... 229 CONCLUSION,....................................................................................................................... 237 CHAPTER 7 REMEDIES ............................. ... ...... ............+..-.................................................-...-................ 239 SECTION7.1 THE REMEDIES REQUESTEDBY COSTARICA ............................................................................ 239 SECTION7.2 DECLARATIONREQUESTED BY NICARAGUA..................................... .. .................................246 RESERVATIONS ...................,........ ............ ...............251 111 SUBMISSIONS ...,........................... ,,, ......,. ..,............... .....,..............253 LIST OF ANNEXES ..................... ................ .,.............. 255 INTRODUCTION Section 1 The Procedure and the Jurisdiction of the Court 1 On 29 September 2005, Costa Rica filed an Application before the Court by which she requested the Court "to adjudge and declare that Nicaragua is in breach of its international obligations .. in denying to Costa Rica the free exercise of its rights of navigation and associated rights on the San Juan kver"' . 2 Costa Rica filed her Memorial on 29 August 2096, within the time-limit fixed by the Court's Order of 29 November 2005. The present Counter- Memoriul is filed in accordance with the same Court's Order which fixed 29 May 2007 as the tirne-limit for its deposit. 3 In her Memorial, Costa Rica bases the jurisdiction of the Court on "the declarations of acceptance made respectively by the Republic of Costa Rica dated 20 February 1973, and by the Republic of Nicaragua dated 24 September 1 929" combined with the Tovar-Caldera Declaration of 26 September 2002 and on Article XXXI of the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement of Disputes, Bogota, of 30 April 1948 (the Pact of ~o~oti)~. Nicaragua does not take issue with these assertions and fully accepts the Court's jurisdiction in the present case. 4 However, Nicaragua wishes to make very clear that while she accepts the jurisdiction of the Court, she nevertheless considers that the issues raised ' CRM, para. 12. CRM, p. 3, para. E .09. by Costa Rica have already been settled by the 1858 Treaty and the 1888 Cleveland Award. The 1886 treaty by which the parties submitted the dispute to President Cleveland provides in Article VII that the award "shall be held to be obligatory between the contracting parties. No other recourse shall be admitted." Costa Rica should thus not be permitted to raise again matters that have already been decided. Section 2 The History and the Background of the Case 5. Soon after the Spanish arrived in America and explorer Vasco Nuiiez de Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513, the search for a natural waterway or strait that would connect both Oceans began. One of the most promising candidates for having this natural channel between the Oceans was thought to be Nicaragua with her huge Lake and her outlet to the Atlantic, the San Juan de Nicaragua River. 6. This possibility of finding a natural channel through Nicaragua and then as a most favourable site for the cutting of an interoceanic canal, made Nicaragua a most coveted prize by foreign powers and her immediate neighbours. As was acutely observed by an American Diplomat early in the 20Ih Century, in all the international controversies of Nicaragua the true cause of the problem was the desire to control the route of the interoceanic ~hannel.~ 7. Costa Rica's interest became manifest immediately after independence from Spain in 182 1. Although the principle of uti possidetis iurzs. was See below, Chap. 3, Sec. 1 and Chap. 4. 4 CRM,Vol. 2, Annex 14. I ' See para. 1.2,26 below. supposed to rule the division of the colonial territories, Costa Rica took advantage o a civil war raging in Nicaragua and annexed an important part of Nicaragua called Nicoya. The annexation of this territory brought Costa Rica closer to the coveted shores of the Lake of Nicaragua which, added to her post-colonial claim of shared sovereignty over its outlet, the San Juan River, made Costa Rica see herself as the sovereign over any canal route through this natural waterway or, at the very least, a necessary partner in any such enterprise. 8. In 1857, after Nicaragua was prostrated by a war against foreign invaders, Costa Rica took over control of the Lake and River route through Nicaraguan territory. This was seen by Nicaragua as a casus belli and declared war on Costa Rica. This declaration of war prompted the Parties to reach an agreement, an agreement that Nicaragua considered would at long last put an end to Costa Rica's attempts to take over or to at least be considered co-sovereign over the San Juan River. The Agreement was the 1 858 Jerez- Cafias Treaty of Limits. 9. Nicaragua will come back in some