Armed activities on the territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Uganda) - The Court fixes time-limits for the filing of written pleadings and decides that in two cases the proceedings

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)70 302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928
Website: www.icj-cij.org

Press Release
Unofficial

No. 1999/45
25 October 1999

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

THE HAGUE, 25 October 1999. By Orders dated 21 October 1999, the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) fixed time-limits for the filing of written pleadings in the above-mentioned cases.

In two cases ( Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Burundi) and (Democratic Republic of
the Congo v. Rwanda), the respondent States (Burundi and Rwanda) indicated their intention to
raise preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the Application.

Accordingly, the Court decided that the written proceedings should first address those questions.

In the third case (Democratic Republic of the C ongo v. Uganda), no such objections having
been raised at this stage of the proceedings, e Court fixed time-limits for the filing of written
pleadings on the merits of the dispute.

1. Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Burundi

At a meeting held between the President of the Court, Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, and the
Parties on 19 October 1999, the Agent of Burundi in dicated that in the opinion of his Government

the Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the App lication. Accordingly, the Parties agreed to
request the Court to determine separately the ques tions of jurisdiction and admissibility before any
proceedings on the merits, on the understanding that Burundi would first present a Memorial
dealing exclusively with those questions and that the Democratic Republic of the Congo would
reply to it in a Counter-Memorial confined to the same questions.

Taking into account the agreement between th e Parties, the Court decided that the written
proceedings should first address the questions of the jurisdiction of the Court to entertain the
Application and of its admissibility. It fixed 21April2000 as the time-limit for the filing of a
Memorial by Burundi and 23 October 2000 as the ti me-limit for the filing of a Counter-Memorial

by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. - 2 -

2. Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda

Taking into account the agreement of the Par ties, as expressed at a meeting held with them
by the President of the Court on 19 October 1999, the Court fixed 21 July 2000 as the time-limit for
the filing of a Memorial by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 21April2001 as
the time-limit for the filing of a Counter-Memorial by Uganda.

3. Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Rwanda

At a meeting held between the President of the Court and the Parties on 19 October 1999, the

Agent of Rwanda indicated that in the opinion of his Government the Court had no jurisdiction to
entertain the Application. Accordingly, the Par ties agreed to request the Court to determine
separately the questions of jurisdiction and admiss ibility before any proceedings on the merits, on
the understanding that Rwanda would first present a Memorial dealing exclusively with those

questions and that the Democratic Republic of the Congo would reply to it in a Counter-Memorial
confined to the same questions.

Taking into account the agreement between th e Parties, the Court decided that the written

proceedings should first address the questions of the jurisdiction of the Court to entertain the
Application and of its admissibility. It fixed 21April2000 as the time-limit for the filing of
a Memorial by Rwanda and 23 October 2000 as the ti me-limit for the filing of a Counter-Memorial

by the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Background information

On 23 June 1999 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) instituted proceedings before
the Court against Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda, respectively, for “acts of armed aggression
perpetrated... in flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and of the Charter of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU)”.

In its Applications, the DRC contends that the invasion of Congolese territory by Burundian,
Ugandan and Rwandan troops on 2 August 1998 (an invasion currently claimed to involve fighting
in seven provinces) constitutes a “vio lation of [its] sovereignty and of [its] territorial integrity”, as

well as a “threat to peace and security in central A frica in general and in the Great Lakes region in
particular”. The DRC accuses the three States of having attempted to “capture Kinshasa through
Bas-Congo, in order to overthrow the Government of National Salvation and assassinate President
Laurent Désiré Kabila, with the object of estab lishing a Tutsi régime or a régime under Tutsi

control”. The DRC also accuses these States of “vio lations of international humanitarian law and
massive human rights violations” (massacres, rapes, abductions and murders), and of the looting of
large numbers of public and private institutions. It further claims that “the assistance given to the

Congolese rebellion or rebellions . . . and the issue of frontier security were mere pretexts designed
to enable the aggressors to secure for themselves the assets of the territories invaded and to hold to
ransom the civilian population”.

The Democratic Republic of Congo accordingl y asks the Court to d eclare that Burundi,

Uganda and Rwanda are guilty of acts of aggression; that they have violated and continue to
violate the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols; that, by taking forcible
possession of the Inga hydroelectric dam and deliberately and regularly causing massive electric

power cuts, they have made themselves responsible “for very heavy losses of life [in] the city of
Kinshasa... and the surrounding area”; and that , in shooting down a Boeing727 aircraft on
9October1998, the property of Congo Airlines, and thus causing the death of 40civilians, they
have violated certain international treaties relating to civil aviation. - 3 -

The DRC further requests the Court to declare that the armed forces of Burundi, Uganda and
Rwanda must “forthwith vacate the territory” of th e Congo; that the said States “shall secure the

immediate and unconditional withdrawal from Congol ese territory of [their] nationals, both natural
and legal persons”; and that the DRC “is entitled to compensation... in respect of all acts of
looting, destruction, removal of property and persons and other unlawful acts attributable” to the
States concerned.

In its Application instituting proceedings against Uganda, the DRC invokes as a basis for the
jurisdiction of the Court the declarations by which both States have accepted the compulsory
jurisdiction of the Court in relation to any othe r State accepting the same obligation (Article36,

paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court).

In its Applications instituting proceedings against Burundi and Rwanda, the DRC invokes
Article36, paragraph1, of the Statute of the Court (which provides that “the jurisdiction of the

Court comprises all cases which the parties refer to it and all matters specially provided for in the
Charter of the United Nations or in treaties and conventions in force”), the New York Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of
10 December 1984 and the Montreal Convention fo r the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the

Safety of Civil Aviation of 23 September 1971, as well as Article 38, paragraph 5, of the Rules of
Court. This Article contemplates the situation wh ere a State files an application against another
State which has not accepted the jurisdiction of the Court.

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The full text of the Court’s Orders will be available shortly on the Court’s website at the
following address: http://www.icj-cij.org

___________

Information Department:

Mr. Arthur Witteveen, First Secretary (+ 31 70 302 23 36)
Mrs. Laurence Blairon, Information Officer (+ 31 70 302 23 37)
E-mail address: [email protected]