Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Rwanda)

OVERVIEW OF THE CASE

On 23 June 1999, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) filed in the Registry of the Court Applications instituting proceedings against Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda “for acts of armed aggression committed . . . in flagrant breach of the United Nations Charter and of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity”. In addition to the cessation of the alleged acts, Congo sought reparation for acts of intentional destruction and looting and the restitution of national property and resources appropriated for the benefit of the respective respondent States.

In its Applications instituting proceedings against Burundi and Rwanda, the DRC referred, as bases for the Court’s jurisdiction, to Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Statute, the New York Convention of 10 December 1984 against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Montreal Convention of 23 September 1971 for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation and, lastly, Article 38, paragraph 5, of the Rules of Court. However, the Government of the DRC informed the Court on 15 January 2001 that it intended to discontinue the proceedings instituted against Burundi and Rwanda, stating that it reserved the right to invoke subsequently new grounds of jurisdiction of the Court. The two cases were therefore removed from the List on 30 January 2001.


This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.

Institution of proceedings


Written proceedings

21 April 2000
Procedure(s):Questions of jurisdiction and/or admissibility
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Orders

Decision regarding content of written proceedings; fixing of time-limits: Memorial and Counter-Memorial
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Extension of time-limit: Counter-Memorial
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Removal from List
Procedure(s):Discontinuance
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Summaries of Judgments and Orders

Summary of the Order of 30 January 2001
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Press releases

23 June 1999
Armed activities on the territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Rwanda) - The Democratic Republic of Congo institutes proceedings against Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda on account of "acts of armed aggression"
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25 October 1999
Armed activities on the territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Rwanda) - The Court fixes time-limits for the filing of written pleadings and decides that in two cases the proceedings shall first address questions of jurisdiction and admissibility
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20 October 2000
Armed activities on the territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Rwanda) (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Burundi) - Extension of the time-limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorials of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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1 February 2001
Armed activities on the territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Rwanda) - The two cases are removed from the List at the request of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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