Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation) - The Court to deliver its Judgment on the preliminary objections t

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. 2011/7
15 March 2011

Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation)
The Court to deliver its Judgment on the preliminary objections to jurisdiction raised
by the Russian Federation on Friday 1 April 2011 at 10 a.m.

THE HAGUE, 15March2011. On Friday 1 April2011, the International Court of
Justice(ICJ), the principal judicial organ of th e United Nations, will deliver its Judgment in the
case concerning Application of the International Conventi on on the Elimination of All Forms of

Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation).

A public sitting will take place at 10 a.m. at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which the
President of the Court, Judge Hisashi Owada, will read the Court’s Judgment.

History of the proceedings

On 12August 2008, the Republic of Georgi a instituted proceedings against the Russian
Federation in respect to a dispute concerning “ac tions on and around the territory of Georgia” in
breach of the International Convention on the Elim ination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(hereinafter “CERD”) of 21December1965. In it s Application, Georgia seeks to ensure that the

individual rights under the Convention “of all persons on the territory of Georgia are fully
respected and protected”.

Georgia claims that the Russian Federation,

“through its State organs, State agents, and other persons and entities exercising
governmental authority, and through the S outh Ossetian and Abkhaz separatist forces
and other agents acting on the instructions of, and under the direction and control of
the Russian Federation, is responsible for serious violations of its fundamental
obligations under CERD, including Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6”.

According to Georgia, the Russian Federation “has violated its obligations under CERD during
three distinct phases of its interventions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia”, in the period from 1990 to
August 2008.

Georgia requests the Court to order “the Russian Federation to take all steps necessary to

comply with its obligations under CERD”.

As a basis for the jurisdiction of the Court, Georgia, in its Application, relies on Article 22 of
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of R acial Discrimination. It also reserves its right - 2 -

to invoke, as an additional basis of jurisdiction, ArticleIX of the Genocide Convention, to which
Georgia and the Russian Federation are parties.

Georgia’s Application was accompanied by a request for the indication of provisional
measures, in order to preserve its rights under CERD “to protect its citizens against violent
discriminatory acts by Russian armed forces, acti ng in concert with separatist militia and foreign

mercenaries”.

In its request, Georgia reiterated its contention made in the Application that

“beginning in the early 1990s and acting in concert with separatist forces and
mercenaries in the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Russian
Federation has engaged in a systematic policy of ethnic discrimination directed against
the ethnic Georgian population and other groups in those regions”.

Georgia further stated that “[o]n 8 August 2008, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale
military invasion against Georgia in support of et hnic separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia”
and that this “military aggression has resulted in hun dreds of civilian deaths, extensive destruction

of civilian property, and the displacement of vi rtually the entire ethnic Georgian population in
South Ossetia”.

Georgia claimed that “[d]espite the withdrawal of Georgian armed forces and the unilateral

declaration of a ceasefire, Russian military op erations continued beyo nd South Ossetia into
territories under Georgian government control”. Ge orgia further claimed that “[t]he continuation
of these violent discriminatory acts constitutes an extremely urgent threat of irreparable harm to
Georgia’s rights under CERD”.

Georgia requested the Court

“as a matter of utmost urgency to order the following measures to protect its rights
pending the determination of this case on the merits:

(a) the Russian Federation shall give full effect to its obligations under CERD;

(b) the Russian Federation shall immediately cease and desist from any and all

conduct that could result, directly or indirectly, in any form of ethnic
discrimination by its armed forces, or other organs, agents, and persons and
entities exercising elements of governmental authority, or through separatist forces
in South Ossetia and Abkhazia under its dir ection and control, or in territories

under the occupation or effective control of Russian forces;

(c) the Russian Federation shall in particular immediately cease and desist from
discriminatory violations of the human rights of ethnic Georgians, including

attacks against civilians and civilian object s, murder, forced displacement, denial - 3 -

of humanitarian assistance, extensive pillage and destruction of towns and
villages, and any measures that would rende r permanent the denial of the right to

return of IDPs, in South Ossetia and adjoining regions of Georgia, and in
Abkhazia and adjoining regions of Ge orgia, and any other territories under
Russian occupation or effective control”.

On 15August 2008, having considered the gravit y of the situation, the President of the
Court, acting under Article 74, paragraph 4, of the Rules of Court, urgently called upon the Parties
to act in such a way as would enable any order the Court might make on the request for provisional
measures to have its appropriate effects.

Public hearings were held from 8 to 10 Sept ember 2008 to hear the oral observations of the
Parties on the request for the indication of provisional measures.

On 15 October 2008, the Court handed down its Order, indicating inter alia that both Parties
shall refrain from any act of racial discrimina tion and from sponsoring, defending or supporting
such acts; that they shall facilitate humanitarian assistance; and that they shall refrain from any
action which might prejudice the respective rights of the Parties or might aggravate or extend the

dispute.

By an Order of 2 December 2008, the President fixed 2 September 2009 as the time-limit for
the filing of a Memorial by Georgia and 2July2010 as the time-limit for the filing of a

Counter-Memorial by the Russian Federation. The Memorial of Georgia was filed within the
time-limit thus prescribed.

On 1December2009, within the time-limit set in Article79, paragraph1, of the Rules of

Court, the Russian Federation filed preliminary objec tions in respect of jurisdiction. Pursuant to
Article 79, paragraph 5, of the Rules of Court, the proceedings on the merits were then suspended.

By an Order of 11 December 2009, the Court fixed the time-limit for the filing by Georgia of

a written statement containing its observations a nd submissions on the preliminary objections in
respect of jurisdiction raised by the Russian Federation; it set that time-limit at 1April2010. It
should be noted that the Parties had agreed on a time-limit of four months from the filing of the
preliminary objections for the submission of th e written statement. Georgia’s written statement

was filed within the time-limit thus prescribed.

In summer 2008, the Court announced that it would hold public hearings on preliminary
objections from 13 to 17 September 2010.

During the hearings the delegation of the Ru ssian Federation was led by Their Excellencies
Mr.KirillGevorgian, Director, Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation and Mr.RomanKolodkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom

of the Netherlands, as Agents. The Republic of Georgia was led by Their Excellencies
MsTinaBurjaliani, First Deputy-Minister of Justice and Mr.ShotaGvineria, Ambassador of
Georgia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Agents.

Submissions of the Parties

At the end of the oral proceedings, the Ag ents of the Parties presented the following
submissions to the Court: - 4 -

For the Russian Federation:

“For the reasons advanced in the writte n Preliminary Objections and during the
oral pleadings, the Russian Federation requests the Court to adjudge and declare that it
lacks jurisdiction over the claims brought ag ainst the Russian Federation by Georgia,
referred to it by the Application of Georgia of 12 August 2008.”

For Georgia:

“For the reasons advanced in the Written Statement of Georgia on Preliminary

Objections and during the oral pleadings, Georgia respectfully requests the Court:

1. To dismiss the Preliminary Objections presented by the Russian Federation;

2. To hold that it has jurisdiction to hear the claims presented by Georgia, and that

these claims are admissible.”

*

NOTE TO THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

1. The public sitting will be held in the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace. Mobile
telephones are permitted in the courtroom provided they are switched off. Any offending device
will be temporarily retained.

2. Media representatives are subject to an online accreditation procedure , details of
which can be found in the Media Advisory (2011/e) attached to this Press Release. The
accreditation procedure will close at midnight on Wednesday 29 March 2011.

3. Individual visitors (with the exception of members of the Diplomatic Corps) and groups
are subject to an online admission procedure. They are kindly requested to fill out the relevant
form on the Court’s website (click on “Attending a Hearing”). The admission procedure will
close at midnight Wednesday 29 March 2011.

4. At the end of the sitting, a Press Release, a summary of the Judgment and the full text of
the Judgment will be distributed. All of these docum ents will be made available at the same time
on the Court’s website.

___________

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)