Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company - Hearing of 11 March 1964

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I.C.3. Gommuniqu6 NO, 64/5
(unofficial)

The followinginformationfrom the Begistryof the International
Court of Justice is communicated to the Press:

At 10.70 a.m. on II March 1964, the Court held the first of the

public hemings in the case concerningthe BarcelonaTraction, Light
& Power Go. Ltd. (~ew Application: 1962) (I3elgiu. -. spin)
(~reliminar~ ~bjeetions) .

At the beginning of the hearing, the Court installed four new
Members mho were electedby the Genesal kssembly and the Securlty
Council of the UnitedNatians in October 1963. Tkey are:
Sis Muhammad Zafxulla Khan, IVlr. Luis Padilla Nervo, 81.IsaacForster
and Jf. Andre Gros. Biographies of these Judges were appended to
Communiqu4 Na, 64/4.

After the Judges concerned had made* the solemndeclarations
provided for in Articles 20 of the Statute and 5 of the Rules of
Gourt, and following a very short adjourment of the Court, the
Presidentbrieflg recalled the stages in the mrittenproceedings
covered since the institution of the proceedings by Belgiumby an
Applicationfiled on 19 June 1962 (see Communiqu6 No. 62/17). He
then proceeded to the installation of hl.Enrique C. Armand-Dgon,
former President of the Rlgh Court of Justice of lTruguag, and

M. Walter?J. Ganshof van des Meersch,Avocat ~énéral to the Belgim
Couri of Cassation, Professor at Brussels University, who, in
accordmce with Article 31 of the Statute of the Court, had been
designatedby the Goverments of Spain and Belgium respectively Lo
sit a.ejudgesad hoc in this case. Biographies of theseJudges were
appended to Communiqué Nom 6414.

The President than declared that Judge Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan,

in a letter addressed to hin, had atated reasons mhy in hisview hs
should not t&e part in the decision of the case. hccordingly he
would not participate,

HavPng noted the presence in Court of the Agents of the Paties
axld their Cornsel, the President çalled upon the Agent for the
Spds h Goverment.

M. JuanIfiI. Castro-Rial opened the case on behalf of the

Spanish Govesnment by making a brief introductory statement and
begged leave for Prafessor Paul Reuter to address the Court.
ProfessorReuter began his spesch which he will continue at the hearing
tomorrow, 12 I4arch, at 10.50 a.m.
x- iC *

Note for representatives of the Press with regard to communiqu6-a
issued during the hearings in the Bascel_on case.

Sincs representatives of the P~ess can be p~esent ai each
sitting and obtain at the end of each day the verbatim record of the
dayls proceedings, the Registry does not propose to publish during

the heaskngs, daily communiquéswhiçh merely indicate the nmes of the
speakers and the date of the next hearing. Kotvever, an exception
will be made whenever the next heming is fixed for a date otker than
the f ollovring working day .

As a genexalrule, the Court will not sit on Saturdays during
these proceedinga .

The Hague, 11 Masch 1964.