Minquiers and Ecrehos (France/United Kingdom) - Hearings of September 17th, 1953

CommuniquéNa. 53/17
(unofficial)

The followlng information from the Registry of the International
Court of Justice has been comunicated to the Press:

To-day, September lTth, 1953, the International Court of Justice
held two public hearlngs to deal wlth the dispute. between the French
Republicand the' United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IreLand
concerning the islets and rocks of the Minquiersand Ecrehos.

The Court sat under the presidency of its Vice-President M,.

J.G. Guerrero, since its 'President, Sir Arnold NcNair, is a national of
one of the Parties in the case. TwoMembers of the Court were not
sitting : Judge Zoricic andSir' Benegal Rau were prevented f rom doing
so by the state of their health. Wthemare, M. Golunski had
resigned f~om the Court last July.

The Goverment of the French %public ?rasrepresented before
the Court by:

Professor André Gros, kgal Adviser to the FLnistry for Foreign
Affairs, as Agent, assisted by M. Burnay, Conseiller dlEtat;' Admiral
Durand de Sairii-Front, PI. Prosper Weil, Professor at the Law Faculty of

G~enoble, and 14. Pierre Duparc, Assistant Reeper of Archives at the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, as Expert Advlsers.

The Goverment of the United ICingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland waa represented by:

MT, R.S.E, Best, Thifd L~gal. Adviser to the Foreign Office, as
Agent, assisted by Sir Lionel Hecld, Q,C ., M.P., Att orney-General,
Fi; C.S. Harrison, O.B.E., Attorney-GeneraL for the Islwid of Jersey,
Mr. G.G. Fitzmaurice, C.M.G,, Legal Adviser, Foreign Office, Professor
E.C.S. IJade, Downing'Professo or the Laws of England in the University
of Cambridge, andMr, D,H,N. Johnson, Assistant Logal Adviser, Foreign
Office, as Counsel, and by Mr. J.D. Lambert, Resenrch Dcpartment,

Foreign Office, as dxpert Ldviser.

0 Fursuant to the agreement bcbween the Parties, the hcting
President called upon the &gent of the Unitcd Kingdom Gove~nmentw ,ho
asked that the Attorney-General be permitted to open the case for the
United Kingdom.

Sir Lionel Heald began hLs speech.

He will conthue his speech a% the sittingwhichwj31 begh
tomorrow, September 1&h, at 10.30 a,n.