Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia) - The Court to deliver its Judgments on Preliminary Objections on Thursday 17 March

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. 2016/4
7 March 2016

Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in
the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia)

Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia
beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia)

The Court to deliver its Judgments on Preliminary Objections
on Thursday 17 March

THE HAGUE, 7 March 2016. On Thursday 17 March 2016, the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Judgments on the

preliminary objections raised by Colombia in the cases concerning Alleged Violations of Sovereign
Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia) and Question of the
Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles
from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia).

The two Judgments will be delivered consecutively by the President of the Court, Judge
Ronny Abraham, at a public sitting beginning at 3 p.m. (The Hague time).

It is recalled that Judgments of the Court have binding force and are without appeal for the
parties concerned.

History of the proceedings

The history of the proceedings in the case concerning Alleged Violations of Sovereign
Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia) may be found in the
Annual Report of the Court for 2014-2015 (paras. 162-174), and in Press release No. 2015/25 of
2 October 2015, which are available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org).

The history of the proceedings in the case concerning Question of the Delimitation of the
Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the
Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia) may be found in the Annual Report of the Court for
2014-2015 (paras. 150-161), and in Press release No. 2015/26 of 9 October 2015, which are
available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org).

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A. Admission procedures

Owing to the limited number of seats available in the Great Hall of Justice, priority access
will be given to representatives of the States parties to the case, and to members of the diplomatic
corps.

1. Members of the diplomatic corps

The Information Department requests members of the diplomatic corps who plan to attend
the readings to notify it accordingly before midnight on Tuesday 15 March 2016 (The Hague

time), by e-mail to [email protected].

2. Members of the public

A number of seats will be allocated to members of the public on a first-come,
first-served basis. There will be no advance registration procedure, and admission requests
submitted beforehand will not be considered.

3. Media representatives

Media representatives are subject to a compulsory online accreditation procedure, which will
close at midnight on Tuesday 15 March 2016. Requests submitted after this deadline will not be
considered. For full details (timetable, technical facilities, etc.), see the section below entitled
“Further practical information for the media”.

B. Further practical information for the media

1. Entry to the Peace Palace

The Press Room will be open from 1 to 7 p.m. Accredited media representatives must bring
with them their personal ID and press card. They are asked to arrive at the Peace Palace gates
between 1 and 2.30 p.m. Only duly accredited individuals with valid identification will be
permitted to enter the Peace Palace grounds.

2. Parking at the Peace Palace, satellite vehicles

No parking is allowed in the Peace Palace grounds apart from satellite vehicles. Media
wishing to park satellite vehicles are requested to fill in the appropriate fields in the online
accreditation form. Televised media wishing to broadcast the sitting live should contact the
Information Department as soon as possible to make the necessary arrangements, and in any case
not later than Tuesday 15 March 2016. Satellite vehicle technicians/drivers will be informed in

due course of the access times for the Peace Palace grounds.

3. Access to the courtroom

Photographers and camera crews will only be permitted to enter the courtroom for ten
minutes prior to the start of each reading. They will be accompanied by Registry staff members
and must keep to the right-hand side of the room.

4. Press Room

The reading will be transmitted live on a large screen, in English and French, in a press room
equipped with a shared Internet access (Wi-Fi, Ethernet). TV crews can connect to the Court’s
PAL (HD and SD) and NTSC (SD) audio-visual system and radio reporters to the audio system. - 3 -

5. Videos, still photographs

Video files (SD/MPEG2 and HD/MPEG4) and still photos produced by the Registry during
the sitting on 17 March 2016 will be available free of charge, for non-commercial use, at the close
of the proceedings (to download, click on www.icj-cij.org/multimedia).

5. Other media services

For further practical information (on requests for interviews, TV stand-up positions, audio
and video outputs available, etc.), please visit the Court’s website. Click on “Press Room”, and

then on “Media Services”.

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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in
April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six

principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York. The Court has a
twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by
States (its judgments have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned); and,
second, to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United
Nations organs and agencies of the system. The Court is composed of 15 judges elected for a
nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations.
Independent of the United Nations Secretariat, it is assisted by a Registry, its own international

secretariat, whose activities are both judicial and diplomatic, as well as administrative. The official
languages of the Court are French and English. Also known as the “World Court”, it is the only
court of a universal character with general jurisdiction.

The ICJ, a court open only to States for contentious proceedings, and to certain organs and
institutions of the United Nations system for advisory proceedings, should not be confused with the
other  mostly criminal  judicial institutions based in The Hague and adjacent areas, such as the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY, an ad hoc court created by the
Security Council), the International Criminal Court (ICC, the first permanent international criminal
court, established by treaty, which does not belong to the United Nations system), the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL, an international judicial body with an independent legal personality,
established by the United Nations Security Council upon the request of the Lebanese Government
and composed of Lebanese and international judges), or the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA,
an independent institution which assists in the establishment of arbitral tribunals and facilitates

their work, in accordance with the Hague Convention of 1899).

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Information Department:

Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department (+31 (0)70 302 2336)
Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Ms Joanne Moore, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)