INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE DISPUTE REGARDING NAVIGATIONAL AND RELATED RTGIHTS (COSTA RICA V. NICARAGUA) REJOINDER OF THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA 15 JULY 2008 VOLUME I CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 SECTIONI . POINTSOF AGREEMENT........................................................................................ 2 SECTIONI1. REMAINING POINTSOF DISAGREEMENT............................................................... 6 SECTION m . STRUCTURE OF THE REJOLNDER ..................................................................18 CHAPTER 1I:THE APPLICABLE LAW ..................................................................................21 SECTIONI. THECHARACTEROFTHE~~~~TREATYASATREA?I(OFBO~ARDES.............21 A . Introduction ................................................................................................................. 21 B . The Legal and Historical Context of The 1858 Treaty ................................................ 23 C. Admissions by Costa Rica ............................................................................................ 28 D . The Applicable Principles of Interpretation ................................................................ 29 E . The Application of the General Rule of Interpretation to the Treaty of Limits ............ 31 1. The Object and Purpose Indicated in the Text of the Treaty ................................................. 37 (a) The Title and the Preamble................................................................................................ 37 (b) The Provisions of the Treaty ............................................................................................. 38 (c) The General Character of the Treaty of 1858 as Revealed in the Diplomatic Correspondence and Negotiations Subsequent to the Treaty of 1858..................................... 41 (d) The Object and Purpose as Revealed in the Cleveland Award of 22 March 1888 and the Report to the Arbitrator by George L . Rives, Assistant Secretary of State, of 2 March 1888 ... 42 F . The Role of Inter-Temporal Law in the Present Case .................................................43 1. First Element of Confusion ..................................................................................................... 43 2 . Second Element of Confusion ................................................................................................ 45 3 . Third Element of Confusion ................................................................................................... 46 G. The Primary Object and Purpose of The 1858 Treaty as a Treaty of Limits: The Legal Consequences........................................................................................................................ 48 1. The Theses of Costa Rica Concerning Treaty Interpretation................................................. 48 2 . The Response of Costa Rica to the Analysis Presented in the Counter-Memorial ............... 50 H . Conclusion: The Primary Object and Purpose of the 1858 Treaty was the DeJinitive Settlement of a Long-standing Dispute Concerning Title to Territory ................................. 57 SECTIONI1 . THEROLE OF GENERALINTERNATIONAL LAWAND OTHERPARTICULAR RULES........................................................................................................ 60 A . The Treaty Prevails: The Contingent and Secondary Relevance of General International Law .................................................................................................................. 61 B . Other Applicable Rules................................................................................................ 68 1. Relevant Customary Rules .................................................. ................................................... 68 2 . The "Instnunents" Invoked by Costa Rica ............................................................................. 71 (a) The 1956 Fournier-Sevilla Agreement.......................................................................... 72 (b) The 1995 Cuadra-Castro Joint CommuniquC .................................................................... 74 (c) The 1998 Cuadra-Lizano Joint CommuniquC .................................................................. 77 3 . The 1916 Judgment of the Central American Court of Justice .............................................. 79 SECTION111 . THESCOPE OF THE CLEVELANDAWARD ....................................................... 81 A . The Cleveland Award Limited Costa Rica's Rights to Navigate the Sun Juan with Public Vessels ....................................................................................................................... 82 B . The Meaning of "Con Objetos de Comercio" Was Not Decided in the Cleveland Award ................................................................................................................................... -89 C. Conclusion................................................................................................................... 93 CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................................ 93 CHAPTER IH: THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF COSTA RICA'S RIGHT TO NAVIGATE "CON OBJETOS DE COMERCIO" ......................................................................99 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... -99 SECTIONI . INTERPRETATIONOF THE 1858 TREATYOF LIMITSACCORDING TO THX VIENNA CONVENTIONON THE LAWOF TREATIES................................................................................. 102 A . The Language of the Treaty with Respect to Costa Rica 'sNavigation Rights .......... 102 B . The Object andpupose of Costa Rica's Navigation Rights Under the Treaty......... 107 1. Costa Rica's Need for a Trade Route to the Atlantic ........................................................... 108 (a) The Inadequacy of Existing Trade Routes ...................................................................... 110 (b) The Idea of the San Juan Route ....................................................................................... 113 (c) Negotiations with Nicaragua over the San Juan River prior to the 1858 Treaty ............ 116 2 . Article VI of the 1858 Treaty in Its Historical Context ....................................................... 128 3 . Early Practice of the Parties under the Treaty of 1858 ........................................................ 130 (a) The Fate of the SarapiquV San Juan Trade Route ........................................................... 130 (b) The Two Treaties of 1868 ............................................................................................... 133 (c) Costa Rica's Written Submissions to President Cleveland ............................................ 135 (d) The Alexander Award of 1897 ........................................................................................ 136 4 . "Comercio" as Understood in 1858 Meant Trade in Goods ................................................ 139 (a) Contemporaneous Dictionary Definitions ....................................................................... 140 (b) Contemporaneous Usages ............................................................................................... 141 (c) The Full Text of Article VI Makes Clear That "Comercio" Means Trade in Goods ..... 144 (d) The Nineteenth Century Treaties and Documents Cited by Costa Rica in the Reply .... 147 SECTION11 . THETREATY DOES NOT E~OWER COSTA RICA To PERFORMPASSENGER OR OTHERSERVICES. NOR DOES IT HAVEAN EVOLUTIONARYCHARACTER ................................ 151 A . The Evidence Concerning Passenger Trafic ............................................................151 B . The Parties Did Not Give the 1858 Treaty an Evolutionaly Character .................... 155 CHAPTER W:THE REASONABLENESS OF NICARAGUA'S REGULATION OF NAVIGATION ON THE SAN JUAN RlTTER .........................................................................159 SECTIONI . COSTARICA'S NAVIGATION ON THE RIVERIS SUBJECTTO REASONABLE NAVIGATION"CON OBJETOS DE COMERCIO~" AND NICARAGUA'SNON-INTERFERENCE WITH A . Environmental Protection.......................................................................................... 179 1. Protected Areas ..................................................................................................................... 180 (a) The Indio Maiz Biological Reserve and San Juan River Wildlife Refuge ..................... 182 (b) The San Juan River - Nicaragua Biosphere Reserve .......................................... 186 2 . Regional and International Environmental Commitments................................................... 187 3 . Management and Protection of the Reserves ....................................................................... 189 4 . Illegal Logging ...................................................................................................................... 191 5 . Illegal Hunting and Fishing .................................................................................................. 194 6. Illegal Occupation of Protected Land ................................................................................... 196 7 . Nicaragua's Regulations Are Necessary To Protect the Environment ...............................