CORRESPONDENCE CORRESPONDANCE 1. THE KEGISTRAR TO THE SBCRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 9 April 1984. In accordance with Article 40, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the lnternational Court of Justice, 1 have the honour to inform you tliat the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua filed in the Registry of the Court today (9 Aprit 1984) an Application lnstituting Proceedings against the United States of America, and a request for the indication of interim measures under Article 41 of the Staiute and Article 73 of the Rules of Court. The basis for the proceedings is stated to be that "the United States of America is using military force against Nicaragua and intervening in Nicaragua's internai affairs, in violation of Nicaragua's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence and of the most fundamental and universally accepted prinçiples of international law". Details of alleged activities of the United States are given in the Application and an annex thereto. Basing itself upon Article 36 of the Statute and the acceptances by the United States and Nicaragua of Compulsory Jurisdiction under that Article Nicaragua requests the Court to adjudge and declare: "((1) That the United States, in recruiting, training, arming, equipping, financing, supplying and otherwise encouraging. supporting, aiding, and directing military and paramilitary actions in and against Nicaragua, has violated and is violating its express Charter and treaty obligations to Nica- ragua and, in particular, its Charter and treaty obligations under - Article 2 (4) of the United Nations Charter; - Articles 18 and 20 of the Charter of the Organization of Amerimn States ; - Article 8 of the Convention on Rights and Duties of States; - Article i, third, of the Convention concerning the Duties and Rights of States in the Event of Civil Strife: (b) That the United States, in breach of its obligation under general and customary international law. has violüted and is violating the sovereignty of Nicaragua by - arrned attacks against Nicaragua by air, land and sea; - incursions into Nicaraguan territorial waters; - aerial trespass into Nicaraguan airspace ; - efforts by direct and indirect means to coerce and intimidate the Govern- ment of Nicaragua. (c) That the United States, in breach of its obligation under generai and customary international law, has used and is using force and the threat of force against Nicaragua. (d) That the United States, in breach of its obligation under general and customary international law, has intervened and is intervening in the internal afhirs of Nicaragua. (el That the United States. in breach of its obligation under general and customary international law, has infringed and is infringing the freedom of the high seas and interrupting peaceful maritime commerce. 356 MILITARY AND PARAMlLITARY ACTIVlTIES (f) That the United States, in breach of its obligation under general and customary international law, has killed, wnunded and kidnapped and is killing, wounding and kidnapping citizens of Nicaragua. (g) That, in view of its breaches of the foregoing legat obligations, the United States js under a particular duty to cease and desist immediately; from aH use of force - whether direct or indirect, overt or covert - against Nicaragua, and from al1 threats of force against Nicaragua; from ail violations of the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political inde- pendence of Nicaragua, including al1 intervention, direct or indirect, in the interna1 affairs of Nicaragua; from al1 support of any kind - including the provision of training, arms, ammunition, finances, supplies, assistance, direction or any other form of support - to any nation. group, organization, movement or individual engaged or planning to engage in military or paramilitary actions in or against Nicaragua ; from al1 efforts to restrict. block or endanger access to or from Nicaraguan ports ; and from al1 killings, woundings and kidnappings of Nicaraguan citizens. (h) That the United States has an obligation to pay Nicaragua, in its own right and as parens putriue for the citizens of Nicaragua, reparations for damages to person, property and the Nicaraguan economy caused by the foregoing violations of international law in a sum to be determined by the Court. Nicaragua reserves the right to introduce to the Court a precise evaluation of the damages caused by the United States." Provisional measures requested are as follows: "That the United States should imrnediateIy cease and desist from pro- viding, directly or indirectly, any support - including training, arms, ammunition, supplies, assistance, finances, direction or any other form of support - to any nation. group, organization, movement or individual engaged or planning to engage in military or pararnilitary activities in or against Nicaragua. That the United States should immediately czase and desist from any military or paramilitary activity by its own officiais, agents or forces in or ngainst Nicaragua and from any other use or threat of force in its relations with Nicaragua." Copies of Application and Request have been transmitted to you by air mail today, and copies delivered to US Embassy, The Hague. (Signed) Santiago TORRESBERNARDEZ. 2, THE REGISTRAR TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERlCA 9 April 1984. Confirming my telex of today's date, a copy of which is enclosed, I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua has this day filed in the Registry of the International Court of Justice an Application instituting proceedings against the United States of America. The Government of Nicaragua has also today filed a request for the indication of CORRESPONDENCE 357 provisional measures under Article 41 of the Statute of the Court and Article 73 of the 1978 Rules of Court. 1 have the honour to send Your Excellency herewith a certified copy of the Application, with an Annex, and of the request for the indication of provisional measures; 1 shall in due course transmit to you certified printed copies of the Application in the bilingual (English and French) edition which will be prepared by the Registry. I also enclose a copy of an Atfidavit by the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua lodged with the Application and the request. May 1 take this opportunity of drawing Your Excellency's attention to Article 40 of the Rules of Court which provides, in paragraph 2, that the respondent, upon receipt of the certified copy of the Application, or as soon as possible thereafter, should inform the Court of the name of its Agent. Paragraph 1 of the same Article provides that Agents shall have an address for service at the seat of the Court to which al1 communiçations concerning the case are to be sent. 3. THE REGISTRAR TO THE SECRETARY-CENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS 9 April 1984. With reference to Article 40, paragraph 3, of the Statute of the Court 1 have the honour to inform you that on Monday, 9 April 1984, the Republic of Nicaragua filed in the Registry of the Court (t) an Application instituting proceedings against the United States of America on the grounds that : "the United States of Americü is using military force against Nicaragua and intervening in Nicaragua's internai affairs, in violation of Nicaragua's sovereignty. territorial integrity and political independence and of the most fundamental and universafly accepted principles of international law"; (2) a request for the indication of provisional measures under Article 41 of the Statute and Article 73 of the Rules of Court. The measures requested are as follows: "That the United States should immediately cease and desist from pro- viding, directly or indirectly, any support - including training, arms, ammunition, supplies, assistance, finances, direction or any other form of support - to any nation, group, organization, movement or individual engaged or planning to engage in military or paramilitary activities in or against Nicaragua. That the United States should immediately cease and desist from any military or paramilitary activity by its own officiais, agents or forces in or against Nicaragua and from any other use or threat of force in its relations with Nicaragua." 4. THE REGISTRAR TO THE AGENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA 9 April 1984. 1 have the honour to acknowledge receipt of the Application by the Republic of Nicaragua instituting proceedings against the United States of America, 358 MILITARY ANI) PARAMILITARY ACTIVITIES together with Annex A and an Afidavit by the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua, and the request for the indication of provisional measures in those proceedings, filed in the Registry by you today. Your appointment as Agent of the Republic of Nicaragua in these proceedings has been duly noted, as has the fact that your address for service, under Article 40, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Court is the Embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua at The Hague. The Government of the United States of America was irnmediately informed by telegram of the filing of the Application and request for the indication of provisional measures: in accordance with Articles 38. paragraph 4, and 73, paragraph 2, of the 1978 Rules of Court, certified copies of these documents were immediately transmitted to the Government of the United States of America. 5. THE UNITED NATIONS LEGAL COUNSEL TC) THE REGISTRAR 10 April 1984. Reçu 6 avril declaration supplémentaire secrétaire d'Etat Etats-Unis d'Amérique en vertu article 36, statut icj ansi conque: "I have the honor on behalf of the Government of the United States of America to refer to the declaration of my Government of August 26. 1946, concerning the acceptance by the United States of America of the Compulsory Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, and to state that the aforesaid declaration shall not apply to disputes with any Central American State or arising out of or related to events in Central America. aiiy of which disputes shall be settled in such manner as the parties to them may agree.