World Court Digest

Introduction

This Digest, produced by the Max-Planck Institute for Foreign Public Law and International Law, is a systematic arrangement of the views on questions of international law as expressed in the judgments, advisory opinions, and orders of the International Court of Justice, including separate opinions of individual judges. Volumes 1 and 2 are available in full at the site with information to be added on new cases as decided.

Presentation

The World Court Digest represents a reproduction, in a systematic arrangement, of the views on questions of international law which are expressed in the judgements, advisory opinions and orders of the International Court of Justice as well as in the separate opinions of individual judges. The World Court Digest is a continuation, in a new shape, of the Fontes Juris Gentium, Series A, Sectio I, which, in its first four volumes, cover the decisions of the Permanent Court of International Justice and the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration and is devoted, in volumes five to seven, to the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice from its establishment until 1985. The period from 1986 to 2000 has been reproduced in the three volumes of the World Court Digest which will be continued periodically in the future. The aim of the Fontes Juris Gentium as well as of its successor, the World Court Digest, is to provide an aid to the study of the decisions of the International Court of Justice owing to its vast importance for the development of international law. The increasing number of judgements and advisory opinions makes it more and more difficult to gain a detailed picture of the Court’s jurisprudence and to make it of practical use to governments and international and national lawyers. The reproduction of excerpts from the original decisions in a systematic way and in their actual context provides thus a helpful overview over the judicial views of the World Court on nearly all relevant questions of international law.

Preface to printed Volume 1

This is a new start of an old activity of the Max-Planck-Institute for foreign public law and international law in Heidelberg. Since 1931 a Digest of the Decisions of the Permanent Court and later the International Court of Justice has been published. The last volume appeared in 1990 covering the period 1976-1985. The general title was “Fontes Iuris Gentium” and the subtitle “Digest of the Decisions of the International Court of Justice”. The Institute has now decided to publish the Digest under the short title “World Court Digest”, in English only.

The general pattern of the earlier volumes has been maintained but a few important changes should be noted. The parts of the judgments or separate opinions reproduced are frequently longer, to make it easier for the reader to see the context of a specific statement. Separate opinions are being reproduced in a restrictive manner, only where they concern essential points of a judgment. The order of presentation has been changed to allow for a better possibility to work with the Digest.

The most important change for the production of the Digest is the use of a scanner in the Institute to read the excerpts of the decisions into a computer. By this method it has been possible to reduce the price of the volume considerably. However, this reduction can only be maintained if the sale of the volume will be increased.

Contents

1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
1.1. Good Faith
1.2. Equity
1.3. Estoppel and Acquiescence
2. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
2.1. General Questions
2.1.1. Formation of Rules of International Law
2.1.2. Historic Rights
2.1.3. Rules of International Law of Regional and Local Application
2.1.4. Ius cogens / obligations erga omnes
2.1.5. Relation between the Sources of International Law
2.2. Customary International Law
2.2.1. Formation of Customary International Law
2.2.2. Evidence of Customary International Law
2.3. Treaties
2.4. General Principles of Law
2.5. Unilateral Acts
3. INTERNATIONAL LAW AND MUNICIPAL LAW
4. SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
4.1. General Questions
4.2. States
4.2.1. Jurisdiction of States
4.2.2. Territory
4.2.3. Nationality
4.2.4. Organs
4.2.5. Fundamental Rights and Obligations
4.2.5.1. Sovereignty
4.2.5.2. Equality
4.2.5.3. Peaceful Settlement of Disputes
4.2.5.4. Obligations of Cooperation and Negotiation
4.2.6. Succession of States
4.2.7. Immunity of States
4.3. International Organisations
4.3.1. General Questions
4.3.2. Legal Position of Member States
4.3.3. Internal Law
4.3.4. “Implied Powers”
4.4. Other Subjects of International Law
4.5. Individuals
5. THE UNITED NATIONS
5.1. General Questions
5.2. General Assembly
5.3. Security Council
5.4. Secretary-General
5.5. Other Organs
5.6. Relationship between different Organs
5.7. Interpretation of the Charter
5.8. Maintenance of International Peace and Security
5.9. Trusteeship System
5.10. Specialized Agencies
5.11. United Nations Administrative Tribunal
5.12. Regional Arrangements
5.13. Privileges and Immunities
6. USE OF FORCE AND RELATED PROBLEMS
6.1. Use of Force
6.2. Self-defence
6.3. Intervention
7. LAW OF TREATIES
7.1. General Questions
7.2. Treatymaking Capacity
7.3. Conclusion
7.4. Reservations
7.5. Application
7.6. Invalidity
7.7. Suspension and Termination
7.8. Interpretation
7.9. Specific Treaties
7.9.1. Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations of 1946
7.9.2. Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance of 1947
7.9.3. Geneva Convention on the Protection of Victims of War of 1949
7.9.4. Treaty of Friendship Commerce and Navigation of 1956 between the United States and Nicaragua
7.9.5. Treaty between the Allied and Associated Powers and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on the Protection of Minorities of 1919
7.9.6. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948
7.9.7. Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighbourliness between the French Republic and the United Kingdom of Libya of 1955
7.9.8. Convention on the Continental Shelf of 1958
7.9.9. Doha Minutes
7.9.10. Treaty of Amity Economic Relations and Consular Rights
7.9.11. Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations of 1946
7.9.12. Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
7.9.13. 1891 Boundary Convention Between Netherlands and Great Britain
8. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES
8.1. General Questions
8.2. Violation of International Law
8.3. Treaty Violations
8.4. Imputability
8.5. Fault and due Diligence
8.6. Participation
8.7. Violation of Duty to Prevent Damage
8.8. Circumstances Precluding Wrongfulness
8.9. Consequences of an Internationally Wrongful Act
8.10. Countermeasures
II. Substantive International Law – Second Part

1. TERRITORY OF STATES
1.1. Acquisition and Loss
1.1.1. General Questions
1.1.2. Legal or Historic Title
1.1.3. Effectivités
1.2. Boundaries
1.2.1. Land Boundaries
1.2.2. Maritime Boundaries
1.2.3. Air and Space
1.2.4. Principle of “uti possidetis”
2. LAW OF THE SEA
2.1. General Questions
2.2. Determination of Maritime Boundaries
2.3. Internal Waters
2.4. Maritime Zones
2.5. Freedom of Navigation
2.6. Fisheries
2.7. Islands / Low-tide elevations
3. INTERNATIONAL WATERCOURSES
4. AIR AND SPACE LAW
5. SELF-DETERMINATION
6. NATIONALITY
6.1. General Questions
6.2. Acquisition and Loss
6.3. Diplomatic Protection
7. MINORITIES
8. LAW OF ALIENS
8.1. General Questions
8.2. Protection of Property
9. HUMAN RIGHTS
10. LAW OF ARMED CONFLICTS / INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW
11. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
11.1. General Questions
11.2. Judicial and Arbitral Decisions
12. DIPLOMACY AND CONSULAR MATTERS
13. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW
14. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
15. EXTRADITION
16. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW
16.1. General Questions
16.2. Universal Jurisdiction
17. DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
III. The International Court of Justice
1. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
1.1. General Questions
1.2. Consent of States
1.3. Equality of Parties
1.4. Political Questions/Determination of the Existence of a Dispute
1.5. Ius standi
1.6. Applicable Law
1.7. Jura novit curia
2. THE JURISDICTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
2.1. General Rules
2.2. Conditions for a Decision on the Merits
2.2.1. Exhaustion of Local Remedies
2.2.2. Necessity of Diplomatic Negotiations
2.2.3. Jurisdiction in Case of Continuing Negotiations between the Parties
2.2.4. Admissibility
2.2.5. Simultaneous seizing of the Court and the Security Council
2.2.6. Mootness
2.3. The Optional Clause
2.3.1. General Questions
2.3.2. Transfer of Acceptances of the Compulsory Jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice (Article 36, Paragraph 5, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice)
2.3.3. Reservations
2.3.4. Interpretation of a Declaration made under Article 36, Paragraph 2, of the Statute
2.3.5. Reciprocity
2.4. Jurisdiction on the Basis of a Special Agreement
2.5. Jurisdiction on the Basis of Treaties
2.5.1. General Questions
2.5.2. Transfer of Competences of the Permanent Court of International Justice (Article 37 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice)
2.5.3. Specific Treaties
2.6. Agreement in Regard to Jurisdiction in the Course of the Proceedings
2.7. Jurisdiction on the basis of a previous judgment
2.8. Jurisdiction and Third States
2.9. Review of Arbitral Awards
2.10. Concurring Jurisdictions
3. THE PROCEDURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
3.1. General Questions
3.2. Procedure before a Chamber Dealing with a Particular Case (Article 26, Paragraph 2, of the Statute)
3.3. Judges ad hoc
3.4. The Submissions / Scope of the Dispute
3.5. Preliminary Objections
3.6. The Procedure in Default of Appearance
3.7. Evidence
3.8. Duty of the Court to Seek Further Clarification
3.9. Relevant Facts
3.10. Provisional Measures
3.10.1. General Questions
3.10.2. Questions of Procedure
3.10.3. Provisional Measures and Jurisdiction
3.10.4. Binding Effect / Compliance
3.10.5. Provisional Measures and Merits
3.11. Intervention
3.11.1. General Questions (Article 62 and 63 of the Statute)
3.11.2. Article 62, Prerequisites in General
3.11.3. Article 62, Jurisdictional Link
3.11.4. Procedural Rights of the Intervening State
3.11.5. Article 63
3.12. Counter-Claim
3.13. Joinder
3.14. Withdrawal of Suit
3.15. Question of Costs
4. JUDGMENTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
4.1. General Questions
4.2. Res judicata / Effects of Judgments
4.3. Interpretation of Decisions
4.4. Revision of Judgments
5. ADVISORY OPINIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
5.1. General Questions
5.2. Request for Advisory Opinion
5.3. Jurisdictional Questions and Denial of the Request for Advisory Opinion
5.4. Procedure
5.5. Review of Decisions of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal