Legality of Use of Force (Serbia and Montenegro v. Netherlands) - Preliminary Objections - The Court will hold public hearings from 19 to 23 April 2004

INTERNATIONAL COURTOFJUSTICE

PeacePalace,2517 KJTheHague.Tel:+31 (0)70302 23 23. Cables:Intercourt,
TheHague.Fax:+31 (0)70 364 9928. Telex:32323.E-mailaddress:
[email protected]:http://www.icj-cij.org.

Press Release
Unofficial

No. 2004113
16 March 2004

Legality of Use of Force
(Serbia and Montenegro v. Belgium); (Serbia and Montenegro v. Canada); (Serbia and
Montenegro v. France); (Serbia and Montenegro v. Germany); (Serbia and Montenegro v.
Italy); (Serbia and Montenegro v. Netherlands); (Serbia and Montenegro v. Portugal);
and (Serbia and Montenegro v. United Kingdom)

Preliminary Objections

The Court will hold public hearings from 19 to April 2004

THE HAGUE, 16 March 2004. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial

organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings in the eight cases concerning Legality of Use
of Force (Serbia and Montenegro v. Belgium); (Serbia and Montenegro v. Canada); (Serbia and
Montenegro v. France); (Serbia and Montenegro v. Germany); (Serbia and Montenegv.~;
(Serbia and Montenegro v. Netherlands); (Serbia and Montenegro v. Portugal); and (Serbia and
Montenegro v. United Kingdom) from Monday 19 to Friday 23 April2004 at the Peace Palace, seat
of the Court.

It should be pointed out that, following preliminary objections to jurisdiction and
admissibility raised on 5 July 2000 by Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Portugal and the United Kingdom, the proceedings on the merits concerning those eight States
were suspended pursuant to Article 79 of the Rules of Court. The purpose of the public sittings to

be held from 19 to 23 April is thus to hear the Parties' oral statements on the preliminary
objections. A detailed schedule these hearings will be provided in a forthcoming press release.

Historyof the proceedings

On 29 April 1999 Serbia and Montenegro (then known as the Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia) filed Applications instituting proceedings against Belgium, Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal,n, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, "for
violation ofthe obligation not to use force".

In those Applications, Serbia and Montenegro, referring to the bombings of its territory by
Member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 following the Kosovo

crisis, contended that the above-mentionedtes had committed "acts ... by which [they] have
violated [their] international obligation[s] banning the usee against another State, not to
intervene in theinternai affairs of [that State]" and "not to violate [its] sover"[their]
obligation[s] to protect the civilian population and civilian objects in wartime [and] to protect the
environment"; "[their] obligation[s] relating to free navigation on international rivers"; "[their]
obligation[s] regarding fundamental human rights and freedoms"; and "[their] obligation[s] not to

use prohibited weapons [and] not to deliberately inflict conditions of life calculated to cause the -2-

physical destruction of a national group". Serbia and Montenegro requested the Court to adjudge

and declare inter alia that theStates referred to above were "responsible for the violation of the
above[-mentioned] international obligations" and that they were "obliged to provide compensation
for the damage done".

As a basis for the jurisdiction of the Court, Serbia and Montenegro referred, in its
Applications against Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom,
to Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court and to Article IX of the Genocide

Convention; and, in its Applications against France, Germany, Italy and the United States of
America, it referred to Article IX of the Genocide Convention and to Article 38, paragraph 5, of the
Rules of Court.

On the same day, 29 April 1999, Serbia and Montenegro also submitted a request for the
indication ofprovisional measures in each ofthese cases.

After public hearings between 10 and 12 May 1999 on the requests for the indication of

provisional measures, the Court, on 2 June 1999, delivered eight Orders whereby, in the cases
Serbia and Montenegro v. Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro v. Canada, Serbia and Montenegro v.
France, Serbia and Montenegro v. Germany, Serbia and Montenegro v. Italy, Serbia and
Montenegro v. Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro v. Portugal and Serbia and Montenegro v.

United Kingdom, having found that it had no prima facie jurisdiction, it rejected the requests for
the indication of provisional measures submitted by Serbia and Montenegro and reserved the
subsequent procedure for further decision. In the cases Yugoslavia v. Spain and Yugoslavia v.
United States of America, the Court, having found that it manifestly lacked jurisdiction, ordered

that those cases be removed from the List.

After the filing of a Memorial by Serbia and Montenegro, in each of the eight cases
maintained on the Court's List, within the time-limit of 5 January 2000, each of the respondent

States (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United
Kingdom) raised preliminary objections to jurisdiction and to admissibility, on 5 July2000, within
the time-limit fixed for the filingof a Counter-Memorial. The proceedings on the merits were
accordingly suspended (Article 79 ofthe Rules of Court). In each ofthe cases, a written statement

by Serbia and Montenegro on the preliminary objections raised by the respondent State was filed
on 20 December 2002, within the time-limit as extended by the Court.

Information Department:
Mr. Arthur Witteveen, First Secretary (+ 31 70 302 23 36)

Mrs. Laurence Blairon and Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officers (+ 31 70 302 23 37)
E-mail address: information@icj -cij.org