Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey)

OVERVIEW OF THE CASE

On 10 August 1976, Greece instituted proceedings against Turkey in a dispute over the Aegean Sea continental shelf. It asked the Court in particular to declare that the Greek islands in the area were entitled to their lawful portion of continental shelf and to delimit the respective parts of that shelf appertaining to Greece and Turkey. At the same time, it requested provisional measures indicating that, pending the Court’s judgment, neither State should, without the other’s consent, engage in exploration or research with respect to the shelf in question. On 11 September 1976, the Court found that the indication of such measures was not required and, as Turkey had denied that the Court was competent, ordered that the proceedings should first concern the question of jurisdiction. In a Judgment delivered on 19 December 1978, the Court found that jurisdiction to deal with the case was not conferred upon it by either of the two instruments relied upon by Greece : the application of the General Act for Pacific Settlement of International Disputes (Geneva, 1928) — whether or not it was in force — was excluded by the effect of a reservation made by Greece upon accession, while the Greco-Turkish press communiqué of 31 May 1975 did not contain an agreement binding upon either State to accept the unilateral referral of the dispute to the Court.


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

Institution of proceedings


Written proceedings

18 July 1977
Procedure(s):Questions of jurisdiction and/or admissibility
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Oral proceedings

Verbatim record 1976 (bilingual version)
Oral arguments on the Request for the indication of Interim Measures of Protection - Minutes of the Public Sittings held at the Peace Palace, The Hague, from 25 to 27 August and on 11 September 1976, President Jiménez de Aréchaga presiding
Procedure(s):Provisional measures
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Verbatim record 1978 (bilingual version)
Oral Arguments on Jurisdiction - Minutes of the Public Sittings held at the Peace Palace, The Hague, from 9 to 17 October and on 19 December 1978, President Jiménez de Aréchaga presiding
Procedure(s):Questions of jurisdiction and/or admissibility
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Other documents


Orders

Fixing of time-limits: Memorial and Counter-Memorial
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Extension of time-limits: Memorial and Counter-Memorial
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Judgments


Summaries of Judgments and Orders

Summary of the Order of 11 September 1976
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Summary of the Judgment of 19 December 1978
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Press releases

Press release 1976/2 (French version only)
10 August 1976
La Grèce dépose une requête contre la Turquie (French version only)
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Press release 1976/3 (French version only)
12 August 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée (Grèce c. Turquie) - La Cour tiendra une séance privée le lundi 16 août 1976 (French version only)
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Press release 1976/4 (French version only)
19 August 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée - L'audience sur la demande en indication de mesures conservatoires se tiendra le mercredi 25 août 1976 (French version only)
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Press release 1976/5 (French version only)
25 August 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée - Audience publique du 25 août 1976 (French version only)
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Press release 1976/6 (French version only)
26 August 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée - Audience du 26 août 1976 (French version only)
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Press release 1976/7 (French version only)
27 August 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée - Audience du 27 août 1976 (French version only)
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Press release 1976/8 (French version only)
8 September 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée - La Cour rendra sa décision sur la demande en indication de mesures conservatoires le samedi 11 septembre 1976 (French version only)
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Press release 1976/9 (French version only)
11 September 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée (Grèce c. Turquie) - La Cour décide de ne pas indiquer de mesures conservatoires (French version only)
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Press release 1976/10 (French version only)
14 October 1976
Plateau continental de la mer Egée (Grèce c. Turquie) - Le Président de la Cour fixe des délais pour la procédure orale (French version only)
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18 April 1977
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - The Court extends time-limits for written proceedings
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18 July 1977
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - Filing of Memorial by Government of Greece
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25 April 1978
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - Date for the opening of hearings on the question of the Court's jurisdiction
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3 October 1978
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - Oral proceedings
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4 October 1978
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - Opening of oral proceedings
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17 October 1978
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - Closure of oral proceedings
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14 December 1978
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - The Court will deliver its Judgment on the question of its jurisdiction on Tuesday 19 December 1978
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19 December 1978
Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey) - Judgment on the question of the Court's jurisdiction
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Correspondence

10 August 1976
Correspondence
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