INTERNATIONAL COURTOFJUSTICE
APPLICATION
lNSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS
filed in the Registry of the Court
on 8 December 1999
MARITIME DELIMITATION
BETWEEN NICARAGUA AND HONDURAS
IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA
(NICARAGUAv.HONDURAS)
COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE
REQUETE
INTRODUCTIVE D'INSTANCE
enregistréeau dela Cour
le8décembre1999
DÉLIMITATION MARITIME
ENTRE LE NICARAGUA ET LE HONDURAS
DANS LA MER DES CARATBES
(NICARAGUAc.HONDURAS) 1999
GeNo.a120ist
APPLICATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA
8 December 1999.
To the Registrar of the International Court of Justice, the iindersigned being
duly authorized by the Republic of Nicaragua :
1. The Republic of Nicaragua has the honour to submit a dispute to the
Court in accordance with Article 36,paragraph 1,and Article 40 of the Statute,
and Article 38 of the Rules of Court. The dispute consists of legal issues sub-
sisting between the Republic of Nicaragua and the Republic of Honduras con-
cerning maritime delimitation. In accordance with the provisions of Article 36,
paragraph 1,of the Statute, jurisdiction exists by virtue of Article XXXI of the
American Treaty on Pacific Settlernent officially known, according to Ar-
ticleLX thereof, as the "Pact of Bogota" signed on 30 April 1948. Both the
Republic of Nicaragua and the Republic of Honduras have since 1950 been
parties to the Pact, the former without any pertinent reservation, and the latter
with no reservations.
111accordance with the provisions of Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute,
jurisdiction also exists by viitue of the operation of the Declaration of the
applicant State dated 24 Septcmber 1929 and the Declaration of Honduras
dated 6 June 1986.
2. The remedies sought by Nicaragua relate to the question of the delimita-
tion of the maritime areas appertaining to Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea
with those that appertain to Honduras in the same area.
Since 1945 general international law has developed in such a way as to
encompass sovereign rights to explore and exploit the resources of the conti-
nental shelf together with rights to an exclusive economic zone two hundred
miles in breadth. The provisions of the 1982Law of the Sea Convention have
recognized and confirmed these legal interests of coastal States.
In conformity with these developinents, the Nicaraguan Constitution as early
as 1948affirmed that the national territory included the conthenta1 pIatforms
on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Decrees of 1958relating to the
exploitation of natural resources and to the exploration and exploitation of
petroleum made it clear that the resources of the continental shelf belonged to
the Nicaraguan State. In 1965Nicaragua decIared a "national fishing zone" of
200 nautical miles seaward on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Consistent with theseinterna1laws,the Government of Nicaragua has granted
at differenttimes petroleum concessions with respect to continental sheIPincer-
tain selectedareas ofitsmaritime domains in the Caribbean. In addition fishing
boats of Nicaraguan nationality, or licensed by Nicaragua, fish in the waters
adjacent to its easterncoasts.
3. The Nicaraguan-Hondurari land boundary was delirnited by the Arbitral
Award made on 23 December 1906 by His Majesty the King of Spain. The
King declared : "that the dividing line between the Republics of Honduras and Nicaragua
from the Atlantic to the Portillo de Teotecacinte . . .is now fixed in the
following manner :
The extreme common boundary point on the Coast of the Atlantic wïll
be the mouth of the River Coco, Segoviaor Wanks, where it followsout in
the sea close to Cape Gracias a Dios, taking as the mouth of the river its
principal arm between Hara and the Island of San Pio where said Cape is
situated, leaving to Honduras the islets and shoals existing within said
principal am before reaching the harbour bar, and retaining for Nicara-
gua the southern shore of the said principal rnouth with the said Island of
San Pio, and also the bay and town of Cape Gracias a Dios and the am
or estuary called Gracias which flows to Gracias a Dios Bay, between the
mainland and said Island of San Pio.
Starting from the mouth of the Segovia or Coco the frontier line will
follow the watercourse or thalweg of this river upstream . . ."(6C.J.
Pleadings: Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December
1906 (Honduras v. Nicaragua), Vol. 1,pp. 25-26.)
The vaIidity of this Award was submitted to the consideration of the Inter-
national Court of Justice that found that the Award was valid and binding
(Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on23 December 1906, Judgment of
18 Novrmbev 1960,1C.J. Reports 1960, p. 192,at p. 217).
Furthemore, the Court in its reasoning indicated that it was obvious that
"the thalweg was contemplated in the Award as constituting the boundary
between the two States even at the 'mouth of the river' " (p. 216).
Certain final details were settled after the Judgment of the Court by means of
the Interamerican Peace Commission of the Organization of American States
(OAS)in 1962.Nicaragua, which had de,factooccupied up to that point in time
territories situated to the north of the River Coco and its mouth that were
awarded to Honduras, then withdrew to the south to the delimitation line
drawn by the King of Spain.
4. Nicaragua has since then maintained the position that ils maritime
Caribbean border with Honduras has not been detecmined. Honduras main-
tains the position that there in fact exists a delimitation line that runs straight
easterly on the parallel of latitude frorn the point fixed in the Award on the
inouth of the Coco river.
This position adopted by Honduras has been constantly opposed by Nicara-
gua and has brought about repeated confrontations and mutual capture of ves-
sels of both nations in and around the general border area.
5. Diplornatic negotiations have failed. The last attempt occurred on
28 November of this year, when the President of Nicaragua, H.E. Doctor
Arnoldo Aleman Lacayo, called his Honduran counterpart, H.E. Mr. Carlos
Roberto Flores Facusse, and requested a bilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers
in order to try to reach agreements on the questions separating their nations. In
this context, it was agreed that the Foreign Minister of Honduras would visit
Nicaragua the following day ; that is, on Monday 29November 1999.This visit
was later cancelled by the Honduran Foreign Minister without any clear
justification.
6. It is against this background that the Government of Nicaragua has
decided to ask the Court for assistance in removing the legal uncertaintieswhich stilI exist in this area of the Caribbean and thus to enhance the legal
security of those seeking to go about their lawful business in the region.
Accordingly, the Court isasked to determin tee course of the single mari-
time boundary between the areas of territorial sea, continental shelf and exclu-
sive economic zone appertaining respectively to Nicaragua and Honduras, in
accordance with equitable principles and relevant circumstances recognized by
general international law as applicable to such a delimitation of a single mari-
time boundary.
This request for the determination of a single maritime boundary is subject
to the power of the Court to establish different delimitations, for shelf rights
and fisheriesrespectively, if, in theht of the evidence, this course should be
necessary inorder to achieve an equitable solution.
7. Whilst the principal purpose of this Application is to obtaideclaration
concerning the determination of the maritime boundary or boundaries, the
Government of Nicaragua reserves the right to claim compensation for inter-
ference with fishing vessels of Nicaraguan nationality or vessels licensed by
Nicaragua, Foundta the north of the parallel of latitude 14"59'08" claimed by
Honduras to be the course of the delimitation line. Nicaragua also reserves the
right to claim compensation for any natural resources that may have been
extracted ormay be extracted in the future to the south of the line of delimi-
tation that will be fixed by the Judgment of the Court.
8. The Government of Nicaragua, further, reserves the right to supplement
or toamend the present Application as well as to request the Court to indicate
provisional measures which might become necessary in order to preserve the
rights of Nicaragua.
9. For the purposes of Article 31of the Statute of the Court and Article 35(1)
of its Rules, the Republic of Nicaragua declares its intention of exercising
the right of designating andhocjudge.
The Government of Nicaragua has designated the undersigned as its Agent
for the purposes of these proceedings. Al1 communications relating to this
case should be sent to the Embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua, located at
Sumatrastraat 336, 2585CZ The Hague.
Respectfully submitted,
(Srgned) Carlos 3.ARGUELLG OOMEZ,
Agent of the Republic of Nicaragua.
The undersigned Chargéd'affair a.s.of the Embassy of Nicaragua in the
Netherlands, pursuant to Article 38 (3) of the Rules of Court, certifiesthat the
above signature corresponds ta that of the Agent of Nicaragua, Ambassador
Carlos J. Arguello Gomez.
The Hague, 8 December 1999.
(Signed[ )Zllegibfe]
Chargéd'afiire a.i.,
E~ilbassyof Nicaragua.
[Therfe ollows theseul of the Embassy.]
Application instituting proceedings