Separate Opinion by Judge Shahabuddeen

Document Number
082-19900302-ORD-01-02-EN
Parent Document Number
082-19900302-ORD-01-00-EN
Document File
Bilingual Document File

SEPARATE OPINION OF JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN

1havevotedforthe Ordermade bythe Court but would liketo consider
alittlemore specificallythan the Court has done Guinea-Bissau'sprinci-
pal argument (referred to in paragraph 25 ofthe Order) on the particular
point on whichthe decision has turned against it. Guinea-Bissau seemed
tobecontendingfora moreliberalviewthan that adopted bythe Court of
the kind oflink whichshould existbetweenrightssought to be preserved
by provisional measures and rights sought to be adjudicated in the case.
Theargumenthas givenmesome difficulty.

Accepting that the cases "have shownthe need for a clear connection
betweenthe objectoftheincidentalrequest and that oftheprincipal one",

Guinea-Bissau correctlysubmitted that the "establishment ofthe connec-
tion is necessary inasmuch as the subject of the request is to protect the
rightsindispute,not otherrightsthat arebeyondthescope ofthe proceed-
ings" (CR 90/1, p. 27,12 Februaq 1990).These propositions reflect the
traditional principle that provisional measures "should havethe effectof
protecting the rights forming the subject of the dispute submitted to the
Court" (Polish AgrarianReform,P.C.I.J.,SeriesA/B, No.58,p. 177).
In this case,its clearthat the maritimerights of the Parties, which are
soughtto be preservedbythe requestedprovisional measures, willnotbe
determined byadetermination ofthe disputependingbefore theCourt as
to the existence and validity of the award. In the result, as it has been
argued in the Court's Order, the provisionalmeasuresrequested are not
directedto the preservation of the rights of the Parties in that particular
and somewhatspecializeddispute.Indeed, whenthetraditional principle
is pressed to its logical conclusion,it is difficult to conceive of circum-
stances which couldground an indication of provisionalmeasures relat-
ingto the substantiverightssoughtto be determinedby an arbitralaward
wherethe dispute inthe main caserelates onlyto the existenceand valid-

ityofthe award.
Guinea-Bissau sought to overcome this problem by contending, in
effect, for a more liberal view of the applicable principles than that on
whichthe Court has acted. As 1understand its case(CR 90/1, pp. 28-39),
its argument is that, although the rights sought to be preserved by the
requested provisional measures are not themselves part of the rights
whichformthe subjectofthe specificdispute relatingtothe existenceand
validity of the award,the two sets of rights are logicallylinked, and that
this linkissuch astojustify the Court in exercisingitscompetence under
Article 41 of the Statute to indicateprovisionalmeasures "if it considers
the circumstancessorequire". Thelinkhasbeenpresented withina theor-75 ARBITRALAWARD (SEP .P.SHAHABUDDEEN)

eticalframeworkin whichthe dispute as to the actualmaritimerights of
the Parties isregarded asaprincipal or first-order dispute and thedispute
astothe existenceand validityoftheawardisregardedasasubordinateor
second-orderdispute. To do justice to Professor Miguel Galvao Teles's
arguments on the point, it is necessary to reproduce the following
passages from his oral submissions :
"Now, Save,possibly,in sofar asmeasuresrelatingto evidenceare
concerned,provisional measures alwaysrelate to the basicinterests
and are justified by them; and, in the second place, they must be

declaredadmissible by referenceto these interests evenifthe Tribu-
nal is seised of a subordinate dispute or one of the second order."
(CR 90/1, p. 32.)
"As isthe casewiththe interests of the parties, decisionstaken on
subordinatedisputes and disputesofthesecond order havenointrin-
sicvalue.Theirvalueisdue onlyto the contributionthey maketo the
final solution ofthe basicdispute. What needs to be safeguarded, at
any procedural stage, are the practical conditions of this final solu-

tion, peace with respect to the basic conflict,and, equally,the inter-
ests of the parties that are the object of the conflict, whatever the
procedural stagereached, because,shouldthepracticalconditions of
thefinal solutionbeimpaired,the samewillbetrue ofthe decisionon
the subordinatedispute orthe dispute ofthesecond order,because if
peace isjeopardized the procedural stageat which one finds oneself
is of no consequence." (Ibid.,pp. 33-34.)
"The fact that provisional measures are not conceived as a provi-
sional anticipation of a possible final decision and that they are

regarded bythe Statuteand the Rulesasbeingbasedfirst ofal1onthe
interest of the international community itself- in the enforcement
ofjudicial decisions and in peace - is thejustification that the link
essential for the admissibility of measures is the link between the
measures contemplated and the conflict of interests underlying the
question orquestionsputto theCourt,whether the latterisseisedofa
main dispute or of a subsidiarydispute, a fundamental dispute or a
secondary dispute, on the sole condition that the decision by the
Court on questions of substance which are put to it are a necessary
prerequisiteofthe settlementorthestatus ofthesettlementofthe con-
flictofintereststo whichthe measuresrelate,asimplicitlyrecognized
bythe Permanent Court of InternationalJusticeinthe case concern-

ingthe DenunciationoftheTreatyof2November 1865 betweenChina
and Belgium,and by thiseminent Court itselfin the caseconcerning
the Anglo-IranianOilCo."(Ibid.,p. 37.)
In the first case so cited by learned counselfor Guinea-Bissau - the
DenunciationoftheTreatyof 2November 1865 betweenChinaand Belgium
(P.C.I.J.,eriesA, No. 8)- provisional measures were indicated to pre-
servethe rights of Belgiumand its nationals under a treaty althoughthe
forma1relief sought in the substantive case was only a judgment thatChina was "not entitled unilaterally to denounce the Treaty . ..".How-
ever,the issuesopresented inthe substantive casewasnot apurely theor-
etical one, for China had in fact denounced the treaty (P.C.Z.J.,SeriesA,
No. 8, p. 5). It followed that, there being no denial that Belgiumand its
nationals had rights under thetreaty ifstillin force,the existenceofthose

rights would be directly affected by a determination that China had no
right of denunciation. In this respect,theOrder of Court read :

"Whereas the Chinese Government has declared the aforemen-
tioned Treaty to have ceasedto be effective,whilstthe BelgianGov-

emment, onthe other hand, maintains that it is stillin force, and as,
consequently,the situationsecured bythe Treaty to Chinese nation-
als resident in Belgium has undergone no modification, whilst the
corresponding situation of Belgian nationals in China has been
alteredinvirtue ofthe abovementionedPresidential Order" (i.e.,the
Order issuedbythe President ofthe Republic ofChina relatingtothe
denunciation of the Treaty. Zbid.,p. 6. See also P.C.Z.J.,Series E,
No.3,p. 127.)

It seems,therefore, that the Court approached the matter on the footing
that the rights sought to be presewed by the requested provisional
measures were part of the rights which formed the subject of the dispute
as to whether China had a right of denunciation and would be directly
affectedby a determination ofthe latter.
In asense,theposition inthat caseseemedsimilartothat inthe Fisheries
Jurisdiction case (United Kingdomv. Zeeland),ZnterimProtection(Z.C.J.
Reports 1972,p. 12)in which it was clear that the British fisheriesrights
sought to be presewed by the requested provisional measures would be
directlyaffected bythe ultimate decision in the case eventhoughthe for-
malreliefssoughtinthe latterweredeclarations whichrelatednotto those
rights themselves, but only, in substance, to the question whether
Iceland's claim to an exclusive fisheries zone of 50 miles was valid in
intemational law (1.C.J. Pleadings, Fisheries Jurisdiction,Vol. 1, p. 10,
para. 21; and the argument of Sir Peter Rawlinson, ibid., pp. 98ff.).
Paragraphs 13and 14of the Order of Court in that case reasoned the

positionthis way :

"13. Whereasin the Application bywhichthe Government ofthe
United Kingdominstitutedproceedings, that Government,byasking

the Court to adjudge that the extension of fisheriesjurisdiction by
Iceland is invalid, is in fact requesting the Court to declare that the
contemplated measures of exclusion of fsreign fishing vesselscan-
not be opposed by Iceland to fishingvesselsregistered inthe United
Kingdom. 14. Whereas the contention of the Applicant that its fishing ves-

selsare entitledto continuefishingwithin the above-mentionedzone
of 50nautical miles is part of thesubject-matter of the dispute sub-
mitted to the Court, and the request for provisional measures
designed to protect such rights is therefore directlyconnected with
the Application filed on 14April 1972" (Z.C.J.Reports1972,p. 15).

In the second case relied on by Guinea-Bissau, namely, the Anglo-
IranianOilCo.,Interim Protection (Z.C.J.Reports1951,p. 89),provisional
measures were indicated for the protection of the company's property
rights,althoughthe United Kingdom'sprimary claimwas onlyfor a dec-
laration that Iran was under a duty to submit the dispute to arbitration.
This situation seems a little closer to the thesis of Guinea-Bissau. How-
ever,three observations maybe made.First, inthe absence ofprovisional
measures,the execution of a possible decisionbythe Court that Iran was
under a duty to submit to arbitration in respect of the property rights
claimedbythe companycouldbeprejudiced (seethe languageused inthe
Electricity Company ofSofia and Bulgaria case, P.C.Z.J.,Series A/B,
No. 79,p. 199).Secondly,ifthe Court heldthatIran wasunder suchaduty,

the arbitration wouldpresumablyfollowon the Court's judgment and so
constitute,together with the decision of the Court, a connected series of
proceedingsleading to a definitivedetermination ofthe dispute concern-
ingthesubstantiveproperty rights.Thisperhaps explainswhy,initsmain
application, the United Kingdom also requested a declaration that Iran
was additionally "under a duty ...to accept and carry out any award
issued as a result ofsuch arbitration" (Z.C.J.PleadingsA, nglo-ZranianOil
Co., p. 18,para. 21(a))And,thirdly,the United Kingdomhad inany event
sought, if only alternatively,a declaration from the Court as to the sub-
stantiveproperty rights of the company (ibid.,pp. 18-19,para. 21(b)).

These cases suggestthat the approach taken by Guinea-Bissau is sub-
ject to a limiting factor represented by the reflection that the situation
created by an indication of provisional measures should be consistent
withthe effectofapossibledecisioninthemaincaseinfavour ofthe State
applying for such measures.This was obviouslythe position in the two
casescitedbyGuinea-Bissau.Buthere,ifprovisionalmeasures were indi-
cated to restrain the Parties from carrying out any activitiesin the area in

question,the situation socreated would not be consistent with a possible
decisionin favour ofGuinea-Bissau onthe issueofthe existenceorvalid-
ity of the award. Aspointed out bythe Court, such a decision would not
determine the actual rights of the Parties in the area in question. In the
particular circumstancesofthiscase, al1that wouldhappen ifGuinea-Bis-
sau succeededwould be that the original dispute would resume without
anymachinery being automaticallyinstituted to resolve it,and with each
Party being at libertyto act withinthe limitsallowedbyinternational lawin the light of the merits of its position as it existsindependently of the

award. This liberty of action, arising from the situation so created by a
decision in favour of Guinea-Bissau on the question of the existence or
validity of the award, would be actually inconsistentwith the situation
created by an indication of provisional measures restrainingthe Parties
fromcarryingoutany activities,instead ofbeingconsistentwithitasinthe
normal case.Therealanalogy seemstobewithcasesinwhicharequestfor
provisional measureswasrefused ontheground thatthe measures sought
were intended to preserve rights which did not form part of the rights
which were the subject of the substantive dispute (see the cases of the
Polish Agrarian Refom and Geman Minority (P.C.Z.J.,Series A/B,
No. 58,p. 178),and the AegeanSea ContinentalSheg InterimProtection
(Z.C.J.Reports 1976,p. 11,para. 34)).

For these reasons, 1 feel unable to consider that the interesting and
learned arguments of Guinea-Bissau on the point in question could lead
to a result other than that reached by the Court.

(Signed) Mohamed SHAHABUDDEEN.

Bilingual Content

SEPARATE OPINION OF JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN

1havevotedforthe Ordermade bythe Court but would liketo consider
alittlemore specificallythan the Court has done Guinea-Bissau'sprinci-
pal argument (referred to in paragraph 25 ofthe Order) on the particular
point on whichthe decision has turned against it. Guinea-Bissau seemed
tobecontendingfora moreliberalviewthan that adopted bythe Court of
the kind oflink whichshould existbetweenrightssought to be preserved
by provisional measures and rights sought to be adjudicated in the case.
Theargumenthas givenmesome difficulty.

Accepting that the cases "have shownthe need for a clear connection
betweenthe objectoftheincidentalrequest and that oftheprincipal one",

Guinea-Bissau correctlysubmitted that the "establishment ofthe connec-
tion is necessary inasmuch as the subject of the request is to protect the
rightsindispute,not otherrightsthat arebeyondthescope ofthe proceed-
ings" (CR 90/1, p. 27,12 Februaq 1990).These propositions reflect the
traditional principle that provisional measures "should havethe effectof
protecting the rights forming the subject of the dispute submitted to the
Court" (Polish AgrarianReform,P.C.I.J.,SeriesA/B, No.58,p. 177).
In this case,its clearthat the maritimerights of the Parties, which are
soughtto be preservedbythe requestedprovisional measures, willnotbe
determined byadetermination ofthe disputependingbefore theCourt as
to the existence and validity of the award. In the result, as it has been
argued in the Court's Order, the provisionalmeasuresrequested are not
directedto the preservation of the rights of the Parties in that particular
and somewhatspecializeddispute.Indeed, whenthetraditional principle
is pressed to its logical conclusion,it is difficult to conceive of circum-
stances which couldground an indication of provisionalmeasures relat-
ingto the substantiverightssoughtto be determinedby an arbitralaward
wherethe dispute inthe main caserelates onlyto the existenceand valid-

ityofthe award.
Guinea-Bissau sought to overcome this problem by contending, in
effect, for a more liberal view of the applicable principles than that on
whichthe Court has acted. As 1understand its case(CR 90/1, pp. 28-39),
its argument is that, although the rights sought to be preserved by the
requested provisional measures are not themselves part of the rights
whichformthe subjectofthe specificdispute relatingtothe existenceand
validity of the award,the two sets of rights are logicallylinked, and that
this linkissuch astojustify the Court in exercisingitscompetence under
Article 41 of the Statute to indicateprovisionalmeasures "if it considers
the circumstancessorequire". Thelinkhasbeenpresented withina theor- OPINION INDIVIDUELLE DE M. SHAHABUDDEEN

[Traduction]

J'aivotépour l'ordonnance rendue par laCour, maisj'aimerais exami-

ner d'unpeu plus prèsquene l'afaitla Cour l'argumentprincipal avancé
par la Guinée-Bissau(viséau paragraphe 25 de l'ordonnance) en ce qui
concernelepoint particulier qui a amené la Cour àprendre une décision
qui luiestdéfavorable.LaGuinée-Bissausembledéfendre,quant au type
de lien qui devrait existerentre les droits que l'on chercheuvegarder
par des mesures conservatoireset ceux sur lesquelson voudrait qu'ilsoit
statuédans l'affaire,une conceptionpluslibéraleque celleadoptéeparla
Cour, et son argument m'acauséquelquedifficulté.
Reconnaissantque d'autres affaires «ont montréla nécessitéd'un lien
clairement établi entre l'objet de la demande incidente et celui de la
requêteprincipale »,laGuinée-Bissauestime à juste titreque((l'établisse-
ment de celien estnécessairecar l'objetde la demandeest deprotégerles
droitsenlitigeet non pas d'autres droits en dehors du procès»(CR 90/1,
p. 27, 12février1990).Ces déclarationsreflètentle principe traditionnel
selonlequel ilfaut quelesmesuresconse~atoires ((tendent àsauvegarder
lesdroitsobjetdudifférenddontla Cour estsaisie »(Réonneagrairepolo-
nuise,C.P.J.I.sérieA/B no 58,p. 177).

Danslaprésenteaffaire,ilestclairquelerèglementdudifférenddontla
Cour est saisieen ce qui concerne l'existenceet la validitéde la sentence
n'emportera pas détermination des droits maritimes des Parties dont
la sauvegarde est l'objet des mesures conservatoires demandées.Il en
résulte, commela Cour le relèvedans son ordonnance, que les mesures
conservatoiresdemandéesne visentpas à sauvegarder les droits des Par-
tiesdans cedifférendparticulieret quelquepeu spécialiséE . n fait, sil'on
pousse le principe traditionneljusqu'à sa conclusionlogique, il est diffi-
ciled'imaginerdescirconstancespouvantjustifierl'indication demesures
conservatoiresdedroits qu'onvoudrait voirdéterminés quant au fond par
une sentencearbitrale,dès lorsqu'au principal le différendn'atrait qu'à
l'existence etàla validitéde la sentence.
La Guinée-Bissauaessayéde surmonter cet obstacleen revendiquant,
en fait, une conception des principes applicablesplus libérale que celle
qui a guidéla Courdans sa décision. Sije comprendsbien son raisonne-
ment (CR 90/1, p. 28-39),elle arguë que mêmesi les droits que l'on
cherche à sauvegardernefontpas eux-mêmep sartie deceux quisontl'ob-

jet du différendspécifiqueconcernantl'existenceet la validitéde la sen-
tence, lesuns et lesautressontlogiquement liés,et que celien esttel qu'il
justifie l'exercicepar la Cour dela compétencequeluiconfèrel'article41
du Statut d'indiquer des mesures conservatoires «si elle estime que les
circonstances l'exigent.Le lien a été présentdéans un cadre théorique75 ARBITRALAWARD (SEP .P.SHAHABUDDEEN)

eticalframeworkin whichthe dispute as to the actualmaritimerights of
the Parties isregarded asaprincipal or first-order dispute and thedispute
astothe existenceand validityoftheawardisregardedasasubordinateor
second-orderdispute. To do justice to Professor Miguel Galvao Teles's
arguments on the point, it is necessary to reproduce the following
passages from his oral submissions :
"Now, Save,possibly,in sofar asmeasuresrelatingto evidenceare
concerned,provisional measures alwaysrelate to the basicinterests
and are justified by them; and, in the second place, they must be

declaredadmissible by referenceto these interests evenifthe Tribu-
nal is seised of a subordinate dispute or one of the second order."
(CR 90/1, p. 32.)
"As isthe casewiththe interests of the parties, decisionstaken on
subordinatedisputes and disputesofthesecond order havenointrin-
sicvalue.Theirvalueisdue onlyto the contributionthey maketo the
final solution ofthe basicdispute. What needs to be safeguarded, at
any procedural stage, are the practical conditions of this final solu-

tion, peace with respect to the basic conflict,and, equally,the inter-
ests of the parties that are the object of the conflict, whatever the
procedural stagereached, because,shouldthepracticalconditions of
thefinal solutionbeimpaired,the samewillbetrue ofthe decisionon
the subordinatedispute orthe dispute ofthesecond order,because if
peace isjeopardized the procedural stageat which one finds oneself
is of no consequence." (Ibid.,pp. 33-34.)
"The fact that provisional measures are not conceived as a provi-
sional anticipation of a possible final decision and that they are

regarded bythe Statuteand the Rulesasbeingbasedfirst ofal1onthe
interest of the international community itself- in the enforcement
ofjudicial decisions and in peace - is thejustification that the link
essential for the admissibility of measures is the link between the
measures contemplated and the conflict of interests underlying the
question orquestionsputto theCourt,whether the latterisseisedofa
main dispute or of a subsidiarydispute, a fundamental dispute or a
secondary dispute, on the sole condition that the decision by the
Court on questions of substance which are put to it are a necessary
prerequisiteofthe settlementorthestatus ofthesettlementofthe con-
flictofintereststo whichthe measuresrelate,asimplicitlyrecognized
bythe Permanent Court of InternationalJusticeinthe case concern-

ingthe DenunciationoftheTreatyof2November 1865 betweenChina
and Belgium,and by thiseminent Court itselfin the caseconcerning
the Anglo-IranianOilCo."(Ibid.,p. 37.)
In the first case so cited by learned counselfor Guinea-Bissau - the
DenunciationoftheTreatyof 2November 1865 betweenChinaand Belgium
(P.C.I.J.,eriesA, No. 8)- provisional measures were indicated to pre-
servethe rights of Belgiumand its nationals under a treaty althoughthe
forma1relief sought in the substantive case was only a judgment that SENTENCE ARBITRALE (OP. IND.SHAHABUDDEEN) 75

définissant le différend quantaux droits maritimes des Parties propre-
ment dits commeun différenddebase ou depremierordre etledifférend
concernant l'existenceetlavaliditédela sentencecommeun différendde
second ordre ou sous-différend.Pour faire justice aux arguments de
M. Miguel Galvao Teles sur ce point, il est nécessairede reproduire les
passages suivantsde sesobservations orales :

«Or, sauf éventuellement ence qui concerne des mesures ayant
égardàdes moyensde preuve, lesmesuresconservatoiresserappor-
tenttoujoursauxintérêtsdebaseetsonjtustifiéespar eux; et,deuxiè-
mement, elles doivent êtrejugéesadmissibles par référence à ces
intérêtms êmesiletribunal est saisid'unsous-différendoud'un dif-
férendde secondordre. »(CR 90/1, p. 32.)

«De la mêmefaçon que les intérêts des partiesl,es décisionsde
sous-différendsou de différends de deuxième ordren'ont pas de
valeurenelles-mêmesL .eurvaleurneprovientquedelacontribution
qu'ellesapportent àla solutionfinale du différendde base. Ce sont
les conditions de pratique de cette solution finale, c'estla paix par
rapport auconflitde base, commecesontlesintérêtd separtiesobjet
de ce conflit qu'ilfaut sauvegarderà tout état procédural- parce
quesilesconditionsdepratique delasolutionfinalesont affectées,le
sontaussi cellesde la décisiondu sous-différendou du différendde
deuxièmeordre,parce que silapaix estmiseen causepeu importe à
quelstadeprocédurall'on est.»(Ibid.,p. 33-34.)

«Le fait que les mesures conservatoires ne soient pas conçues
commeune anticipation provisoire d'une possibledécisionfinaleet
qu'ellessoientpenséespar leStatut etpar leRèglementcommeétant
fondées tout d'abordpar l'intérêdte la communautéinternationale
elle-même - à l'exécution des décisiondse justice età la paix-
justifie que lelienindispensableàl'admissibilitédes mesures soitle
lien entre les mesuresenvisagéeset leconflitd'intérêts sous-jacent
la questionou auxquestions posées àla Cour,que celle-cisoitsaisie
d'un différend principal ou d'un sous-différend,d'un différend de
base ou d'un différendde second ordre, àla seule condition que la

décisionpar laCour desquestionsdefondquiluisont poséessoitun
préalablenécessairedu règlementoudu statutdu règlementdu conflit
d'intérêts queles mesures concernent, ainsi que l'a implicitement
retenula Cour permanente deJusticeinternationale dans l'affairede
la Dénonciationdu traitésino-belgedu 2novembre1865et cettehaute
Cour, elle-même,dans l'affaire de l'Anglo-Iranian Oil Co.» (Ibid.,
p.37.)
Dans la premièreaffaireainsi citéepar l'éminent conseilde la Guinée-
Bissau - l'affairerelative àla Dénonciationdu traitésino-belgedu 2 no-

vembre1865(C.P.J.I.sérieAn*8) - laCour aindiquédesmesuresconser-
vatoirespour sauvegarderlesdroits de la Belgiqueet de sesnationaux en
vertu d'un traité alors mêmeque tout ce qui lui était demandéauChina was "not entitled unilaterally to denounce the Treaty . ..".How-
ever,the issuesopresented inthe substantive casewasnot apurely theor-
etical one, for China had in fact denounced the treaty (P.C.Z.J.,SeriesA,
No. 8, p. 5). It followed that, there being no denial that Belgiumand its
nationals had rights under thetreaty ifstillin force,the existenceofthose

rights would be directly affected by a determination that China had no
right of denunciation. In this respect,theOrder of Court read :

"Whereas the Chinese Government has declared the aforemen-
tioned Treaty to have ceasedto be effective,whilstthe BelgianGov-

emment, onthe other hand, maintains that it is stillin force, and as,
consequently,the situationsecured bythe Treaty to Chinese nation-
als resident in Belgium has undergone no modification, whilst the
corresponding situation of Belgian nationals in China has been
alteredinvirtue ofthe abovementionedPresidential Order" (i.e.,the
Order issuedbythe President ofthe Republic ofChina relatingtothe
denunciation of the Treaty. Zbid.,p. 6. See also P.C.Z.J.,Series E,
No.3,p. 127.)

It seems,therefore, that the Court approached the matter on the footing
that the rights sought to be presewed by the requested provisional
measures were part of the rights which formed the subject of the dispute
as to whether China had a right of denunciation and would be directly
affectedby a determination ofthe latter.
In asense,theposition inthat caseseemedsimilartothat inthe Fisheries
Jurisdiction case (United Kingdomv. Zeeland),ZnterimProtection(Z.C.J.
Reports 1972,p. 12)in which it was clear that the British fisheriesrights
sought to be presewed by the requested provisional measures would be
directlyaffected bythe ultimate decision in the case eventhoughthe for-
malreliefssoughtinthe latterweredeclarations whichrelatednotto those
rights themselves, but only, in substance, to the question whether
Iceland's claim to an exclusive fisheries zone of 50 miles was valid in
intemational law (1.C.J. Pleadings, Fisheries Jurisdiction,Vol. 1, p. 10,
para. 21; and the argument of Sir Peter Rawlinson, ibid., pp. 98ff.).
Paragraphs 13and 14of the Order of Court in that case reasoned the

positionthis way :

"13. Whereasin the Application bywhichthe Government ofthe
United Kingdominstitutedproceedings, that Government,byasking

the Court to adjudge that the extension of fisheriesjurisdiction by
Iceland is invalid, is in fact requesting the Court to declare that the
contemplated measures of exclusion of fsreign fishing vesselscan-
not be opposed by Iceland to fishingvesselsregistered inthe United
Kingdom.principal étaitdedireetjuger qu'ailn'appartient pas àla Chine dedénon-
cerunilatéralementletraité ..»Néanmoins,laquestionainsiprésentéa eu
principal n'étaitpaspurement théorique,carla Chineavaiteffectivement
dénoncé letraité (C.P.J.I.sérieA no8,p. 5).Par suite,comme iln'était pas
contestéque la Belgique et ses nationaux avaient des droits en vertu du
traitési celui-ci était toujoursen vigueur, l'existencede ces droits serait
directementaffectéesila Courjugeait que la Chine n'avaitpas ledroit de
dénoncerletraité.Acetégard,l'ordonnancedelaCour étaitainsilibellée :

((Attenduque c'estleGouvernement deChinequi adéclaré quele
traité précitécaesséde produire seseffets,leGouvernement de Bel-
giqueseplaçant, au contraire, au point devue qu'ilreste en vigueur;
que, par conséquent, la situation garantiepar le traité aux ressortis-
santschinoisrésidanten Belgiquen'asubiaucune modification, tan-

dis que la situation correspondante des ressortissants belges en
chine aétéchangéeenvertududit mandat présidentiel»(c'est%-dire
lemandat du résident dela Ré~ubliauede Chine relatif àla dénon-
ciation du trahé.Zbid.,p. 6.~oi; auss;~.~.~.~.sérieE no3,p. 127.)

Il semblepar conséquentque la Cour aitconsidéré que lesdroits que l'on
cherchait à sauvegarder par les mesures conservatoires demandées fai-
saientpartie desdroitsobjet du différendsurlepoint de savoirsila Chine
avait le droit de dénoncerle traité,et qu'ilsseraient directement affectés
par un arrêtsur ce point.
En un sens, la position adoptéedans cette affaire semble similaire à
celle adoptée dans l'affaire de la Compétenceen matièrede pêcheries
(Royaume-Uni c. Islande), mesures conservatoires (C. IJ. Recueil 1972,
p. 12)dans laquelle il était clairque les droits de la Grande-Bretagne en
matièrede pêcheries queles mesuresconservatoiresdemandées visaient
à sauvegarder seraient directement affectés par la décisionfinale qui
serait prise dans l'affaire,même sidans cette dernièreil était officielle-
ment demandé à la Cour de se prononcer non sur ces droits eux-mêmes
maisseulement,ensubstance,surla question de savoirsilarevendication

par l'Irlande d'une zoneexclusive de pêche d'une largeurde 50 milles
marins étaitvalideendroit international (C.I.J.Mémoires, Compétene ce
matière de pêcheries, vol.1, p. 10, par. 21; et argumentation de sir
PeterRawlinson, ibid.,p.98etsuiv.).Auxparagraphes 13et 14del'ordon-
nance qu'elle a rendue dans cette affaire, la Cour justifie sa position
commesuit :

«13. Considérant que,dans sa requête introductived'instance,le
Gouvernement du Royaume-Uni,enpriant la Courde dire que l'ex-
tension de la compétencede l'Islande en matièrede pêcheriesn'est
pas valable,a demandéen fait àla Cour de déclarer quelesmesures
d'exclusion desnavires de pêche étrangere snvisagéespar l'Islande
ne sont pas opposables aux navires de pêche immatriculésau
Royaume-Uni ; 14. Whereas the contention of the Applicant that its fishing ves-

selsare entitledto continuefishingwithin the above-mentionedzone
of 50nautical miles is part of thesubject-matter of the dispute sub-
mitted to the Court, and the request for provisional measures
designed to protect such rights is therefore directlyconnected with
the Application filed on 14April 1972" (Z.C.J.Reports1972,p. 15).

In the second case relied on by Guinea-Bissau, namely, the Anglo-
IranianOilCo.,Interim Protection (Z.C.J.Reports1951,p. 89),provisional
measures were indicated for the protection of the company's property
rights,althoughthe United Kingdom'sprimary claimwas onlyfor a dec-
laration that Iran was under a duty to submit the dispute to arbitration.
This situation seems a little closer to the thesis of Guinea-Bissau. How-
ever,three observations maybe made.First, inthe absence ofprovisional
measures,the execution of a possible decisionbythe Court that Iran was
under a duty to submit to arbitration in respect of the property rights
claimedbythe companycouldbeprejudiced (seethe languageused inthe
Electricity Company ofSofia and Bulgaria case, P.C.Z.J.,Series A/B,
No. 79,p. 199).Secondly,ifthe Court heldthatIran wasunder suchaduty,

the arbitration wouldpresumablyfollowon the Court's judgment and so
constitute,together with the decision of the Court, a connected series of
proceedingsleading to a definitivedetermination ofthe dispute concern-
ingthesubstantiveproperty rights.Thisperhaps explainswhy,initsmain
application, the United Kingdom also requested a declaration that Iran
was additionally "under a duty ...to accept and carry out any award
issued as a result ofsuch arbitration" (Z.C.J.PleadingsA, nglo-ZranianOil
Co., p. 18,para. 21(a))And,thirdly,the United Kingdomhad inany event
sought, if only alternatively,a declaration from the Court as to the sub-
stantiveproperty rights of the company (ibid.,pp. 18-19,para. 21(b)).

These cases suggestthat the approach taken by Guinea-Bissau is sub-
ject to a limiting factor represented by the reflection that the situation
created by an indication of provisional measures should be consistent
withthe effectofapossibledecisioninthemaincaseinfavour ofthe State
applying for such measures.This was obviouslythe position in the two
casescitedbyGuinea-Bissau.Buthere,ifprovisionalmeasures were indi-
cated to restrain the Parties from carrying out any activitiesin the area in

question,the situation socreated would not be consistent with a possible
decisionin favour ofGuinea-Bissau onthe issueofthe existenceorvalid-
ity of the award. Aspointed out bythe Court, such a decision would not
determine the actual rights of the Parties in the area in question. In the
particular circumstancesofthiscase, al1that wouldhappen ifGuinea-Bis-
sau succeededwould be that the original dispute would resume without
anymachinery being automaticallyinstituted to resolve it,and with each
Party being at libertyto act withinthe limitsallowedbyinternational law 14. Considérantque la thèsedu demandeur suivant laquelle ses
naviresont ledroit de continuer àpratiquer la pêchedans la zone de
50millesmarins ci-dessusmentionnéeconstituel'un desélémend tse
l'objetdu différendsoumisà laCour etquela demandeen indication
de mesures conservatoires destinées à protégerce droit est donc
directementliéeà la requêtedéposé le 14avril 1972»(C.I.J.Recueil
1972,p. 15).

Dans la seconde affaire invoquéepar la Guinée-Bissau,celle de l'An-
glo-Iranian Oil Co., mesures conservatoires,ordonnand cu 5juillet 1951
(C.I.J.Recueil1951,p. 89),laCour a indiqué desmesures conservatoires
pour protégerlesdroitspatrimoniaux delasociété,bien qu'auprincipal le
Royaume-Uniluidemandât seulement dedéclarerque l'Iranétaittenude
soumettre le différendà l'arbitrage. Cette situation semble un peu plus
proche de la thèsede la Guinée-Bissau.On peut néanmoins faire trois
observations. Premièrement, en l'absence de mesures conservatoires,
l'exécutiond'une décisionpar laquelle la Cour jugerait que l'Iran était
tenu desoumettre à l'arbitrageledifférendrelatifauxdroitspatrimoniaux
revendiquéspar la sociétépourrait être compromis(e voir lestermes uti-
lisésdans l'affaire de laompagnied'électricité de Sofia et de Bulgarie,
C.P.J.I.sérieA/B no 79,p. 199).Deuxièmement,si la Cour considérait
qu'une telle obligation s'imposait l'Iran, on peut supposer que I'arbi-

trage suivraitl'arrêtde la Cour et constitueraitainsi,avec ce dernier, une
sériede procéduresliéesentre elles aboutissantà un règlementdéfinitif
quant aufonddu différendrelatifauxdroitspatrimoniaux. Ceciexplique
peut-être pourquoi,dans sa demande principale, le Royaume-Uni priait
aussi la Cour de déclarerque l'Iran était«tenu d'accepter et d'exécuter
la sentence rendue à la suite de cet arbitrage» (C.I.J.Mémoires, nglo-
IranianOil Co.,p. 18,par. 21 a)).Troisièmement,le Royaume-Uni avait
de toute façon demandé àla Cour, mêmesi c'étaitseulement àtitre sub-
sidiaire, de se prononcer au fond sur les droits patrimoniaux de la
société(ibid.,p. 18-19,par. 216)).
Ces affaires donnent à penser que la position adoptée parla Guinée-
Bissauconnaîtdes limitestenantau faitquelasituationcréée par l'indica-
tion de mesures conservatoires doit être compatible avec l'effetd'une
éventuelledécisionau principal en faveur de 1'Etatdemandant de telles
mesures. Telleétaità l'évidencela situation dans les deux affaires citées

par la Guinée-Bissau.Mais enl'espèce, sila Cour indiquait des mesures
conservatoirespour empêcher lesPartiesdeselivrerà desactivitésdansla
zoneenquestion, lasituationainsi crééneeseraitpascompatibleavec une
éventuelledécisionenfaveur delaGuinée-Bissausurlaquestion del'exis-
tenceou delavaliditédelasentence.Commel'a faitobserverlaCour,une
telle décisionne déterminerait pasles droits effectifsdes Parties dans la
zone en question.Tout cequi sepasserait, sidans lescirconstancesparti-
culièresde l'espècela Guinée-Bissauobtenait gainde cause,serait que le
différend originel reprendrait sans qu'aucun mécanismesoit institué
automatiquement pour le régler,et que chaque Partie serait libre d'agirin the light of the merits of its position as it existsindependently of the

award. This liberty of action, arising from the situation so created by a
decision in favour of Guinea-Bissau on the question of the existence or
validity of the award, would be actually inconsistentwith the situation
created by an indication of provisional measures restrainingthe Parties
fromcarryingoutany activities,instead ofbeingconsistentwithitasinthe
normal case.Therealanalogy seemstobewithcasesinwhicharequestfor
provisional measureswasrefused ontheground thatthe measures sought
were intended to preserve rights which did not form part of the rights
which were the subject of the substantive dispute (see the cases of the
Polish Agrarian Refom and Geman Minority (P.C.Z.J.,Series A/B,
No. 58,p. 178),and the AegeanSea ContinentalSheg InterimProtection
(Z.C.J.Reports 1976,p. 11,para. 34)).

For these reasons, 1 feel unable to consider that the interesting and
learned arguments of Guinea-Bissau on the point in question could lead
to a result other than that reached by the Court.

(Signed) Mohamed SHAHABUDDEEN. SENTENCE ARBITRALE (OP. IND.SHAHABUDDEEN) 78

dans leslimitesautoriséespar ledroit international comptetenu du bien-
fondéde sa position considérée indépendammend t e la sentence. Cette
libertéd'action, découlandtela situationainsicrééparune décisiondela
Cour en faveur de la Guinée-Bissausur la question de l'existenceet de la
validitéde lasentence,seraiteffectivementincompatibleaveclasituation

créépear l'indicationdemesuresconservatoiresordonnant auxparties de
s'abstenir de se livràrdes activités,au lieu d'être compatible aveelle
commeil seraitnormal. En fait,il sembleque c'estplutôt aveclesaffaires
dans lesquelles une demande en indication de mesures conservatoiresa
étérejetéaeu motifque lesmesuresdemandéesvisaient àsauvegarderdes
droits qui ne faisaientpas partie de ceuxfaisant l'objetdu différenddont
la Cour étaitsaisieau principal quel'onpuissefaireune analogie (voirles
affaires de la Réforme agraire polonaise et minorité alleman Ce.P.J.I.
sérieA/B no58,p. 178)et du Plateau continentalde la mer Egée, mesures
conservatoires(C.I.J.Recueil1976,p. 11,par. 34)).
Pour cesraisons,je nesuispas enmesurede conclurequelesarguments
intéressantset savammentprésentés par la Guinée-Bissasu ur le point en

question pourraient aboutirà un autre résultatque celui auquel la Cour
estparvenue.

(Signé)Mohamed SHAHABUDDEEN.

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