Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway)
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Norway
Overview of the case
The Judgment delivered by the Court in this case ended a long controversy between the United Kingdom and Norway which had aroused considerable interest in other maritime States. In 1935 Norway enacted a decree by which it reserved certain fishing grounds situated off its northern coast for the exclusive use of its own fishermen. The question at issue was whether this decree, which laid down a method for drawing the baselines from which the width of the Norwegian territorial waters had to be calculated, was valid international law. This question was rendered particularly delicate by the intricacies of the Norwegian coastal zone, with its many fjords, bays, islands, islets and reefs. The United Kingdom contended, inter alia, that some of the baselines fixed by the decree did not accord with the general direction of the coast and were not drawn in a reasonable manner. In its Judgment of 18 December 1951, the Court found that, contrary to the submissions of the United Kingdom, neither the method nor the actual baselines stipulated by the 1935 Decree were contrary to international law.
This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.
Institution of proceedings
Application Instituting Proceedings
28 September 1949
Available in:
English
French
Written proceedings
Memorial submitted by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
27 January 1950
Available in:
English
Counter-Memorial submitted by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway (continued)
31 July 1950
Available in:
English
Counter-Memorial submitted by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway
(French version only)
31 July 1950
Available in:
French
(French version only)
Reply submitted by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
28 November 1950
Available in:
English
Rejoinder submitted by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway
30 April 1951
Available in:
English
Oral proceedings
Verbatim record 1951/1
Minutes of the Public Sittings held at the Peace Palace, The Hague, from September 25th to October 29th, and on December 18th, 1951, President Basdevant presiding
Available in:
Original Language
Other documents
Documents submitted to the Court after the closure of the written proceedings (Rules of Court, 1946, Article 48)
19 September 1951
Available in:
English
French
Orders
Order of 9 November 1949
Fixing of time-limits: Memorial and Counter-Memorial, Reply and Rejoinder
Available in:
English
French
Bilingual
Order of 29 March 1950
Extension of time-limits: Counter-Memorial, Reply and Rejoinder
Available in:
English
French
Bilingual
Order of 4 October 1950
Extension of time-limits: Reply and Rejoinder
Available in:
English
French
Bilingual
Order of 10 January 1951
Extension of time-limit: Rejoinder
Available in:
English
French
Bilingual
Judgments
Judgment of 18 December 1951
(including the text of the declaration of judge Hackworth)
Available in:
English
French
Bilingual
Summaries of Judgments and Orders
Summary 1951/3
Summary of the Judgment of 18 December 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press releases
Press release 1949/21
9 November 1949
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Order fixing the time-limits of the filing of the written pleadings
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/2
10 January 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Order extending the time-limit for the filing, by Norway, of its Rejoinder
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/29
22 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Representatives of the Parties at the public hearings opening on 25 September 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/30
25 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 25 September 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/31
26 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 26 September 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/32
27 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 27 September 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/33
28 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 28 September 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/34
29 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 29 September 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/35
1 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 1 October 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/36
5 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 5 October 1951
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/37
6 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 6 October 1951 (Bilingual version)
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/38
8 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 8 October 1951(Bilingual version)
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/39
9 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 9 October 1951(Bilingual version)
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/40
10 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 10 October 1951(Bilingual version)
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/41
11 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 11 October 1951(Bilingual version)
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/42
12 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 12 October 1951(Bilingual version)
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/43
13 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 13 October 1951(Bilingual version)
Available in:
English
French
Press release 1951/44
(French version only)
15 October 1951
Pêcheries (Royaume-Uni c. Norvège) - Audiences publiques du 15 octobre 1951 (French version only)
Available in:
French
(French version only)
