Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo) - Question of compensation - The Court to deliver its Judgment on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at 3 p.m. - Reading to be broadcast

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. 2012/19
30 May 2012

Ahmadou Sadio Diallo
(Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Question of compensation

The Court to deliver its Judgment on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at 3 p.m.

Reading to be broadcast live on the Court’s website

THE HAGUE, 30May2012. On Tuesday 19June2012, the International Court of Justice
(ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Judgment on the question
of compensation owed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Republic of Guinea, in
accordance with paragraphs163 and 165(7) of the Judgment of 30November2010 in the case

concerning Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo).

A public sitting will take place at 3p.m., during which the President of the Court,
Judge Peter Tomka, will read the Court’s Judgment. This sitting will be broadcast live and in full
on the Court’s website (via the “Multimedia” link) . It will immediately be made available as a
recorded webcast (VOD) on the Court’s website a nd, shortly thereafter, will be uploaded to the

United Nations multimedia site (http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/).

It should be noted that, owing to the renovaon of the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace
Palace, where the Court usually sits, this public sitting will be held in the auditorium of The Hague
Academy of International Law, whose building is adjacent to the Peace Palace.

Submissions of the Parties

In the written proceedings relating to compensation (see also “History of the proceedings”
below), the following final submissions were presented to the Court by the Parties:

On behalf of the Government of Guinea,

in the Memorial:

“In compensation for the damage suffered by Mr.Ahmadou Sadio Diallo as a

result of his arbitrary detentions and expulsion, the Republic of Guinea begs the Court
to order the Democratic Republic of the Congo to pay it (on behalf of its national) the
following sums: - 2 -

⎯ US$250,000 for mental and moral damage, including injury to his reputation;

⎯ US$6,430,148 for loss of earnings during his detention and following his
expulsion;

⎯ US$550,000 for other material damage; and

⎯ US$4,360,000 for loss of potential earnings;

amounting to a total of eleven million fi ve hundred and ninety thousand one hundred

and forty-eight American dollars (US $11,590,148), not including statutory default
interest.

Furthermore, as a result of having been forced to institute the present

proceedings, the Guinean State has incurre d unrecoverable costs which it should not,
in equity, be required to bear and which are assessed at US$500,000. The Republic of
Guinea also begs the Court to order the DRC to pay it that sum.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo should also be ordered to pay all the
costs.”

On behalf of the Government of the DRC,

in the Counter-Memorial:

“Having regard to all of the argumen ts of fact and law set out above, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo asks the Court to adjudge and declare that:

(1) compensation in an amount of US$30,000 is due to Guinea to make good the
non-pecuniary injury suffered by Mr. Diallo as a result of his wrongful detentions

and expulsion in 1995-1996;

(2) no default interest is due on the amount of compensation as fixed above;

(3)the DRC shall have a time-limit of six months from the date of the Court’s
judgment in which to pay to Guinea the above amount of compensation;

(4)no compensation is due in respect of the other material damage claimed by

Guinea;

(5) each Party shall bear its own costs of the proceedings, including costs and fees of
its counsel, advocates, advisers, assistants and others.”

History of the proceedings

It is recalled that, on 28December1998, the Government of the Republic of Guinea
(hereinafter “Guinea”) filed in the Registry of the Court an Application instituting proceedings

against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (h ereinafter the “DRC”, named Zaire between 1971
and 1997) in respect of a dispute concerning “serious violations of international law” alleged to
have been committed upon the person of Mr. Ahmadou Sadio Diallo, a Guinean national.

Following the conclusion of those proceedings (a summary of which can be found in Press
Release No.2010/37), the Court delivered its Judgment on the merits of the case on
30 November 2010 (see Press Release No. 2010/39). - 3 -

In that Judgment, the Court found in particular that in carrying out the arrest, detention and
expulsion of Mr.Diallo in 1995-1996, the DRC had violated his fundamental rights. The Court

also found that the DRC was under obligation to make appropriate reparation, in the form of
compensation, to Guinea for the injurious consequences of the violations of international
obligations committed by the DRC. Finally, the Cour t also decided in the Judgment that it would
settle the question of compensation if the Parties fa iled to agree on the matter within sixmonths

from the date of the Judgment.

In an Order of 20September2011, the Court noted that the time-limit it had fixed in the
operative part of its Judgment ha d expired on 30May2 011, without an agreement being reached

between the Parties on the question of compensation due to Guinea. It also recalled that it had
decided in its Judgment that, having been sufficien tly informed of the facts of the case, a single
exchange of written pleadings by the Parties would be sufficient in order for it to decide on the
amount of compensation due to Guinea. Consequently, the Court fixed 6December2011 and

21February2012 as the respective time-limits for the filing of the Memorial of Guinea and the
Counter-Memorial of the DRC on the above-mentione d question. Those time-limits were fixed
taking account of the views expressed by the Parties.

The pleadings were filed within the time-limits thus fixed. They can be found, without their
annexes, in the case file on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org). To access them:

1. Click on “Cases”;

2. Select“ Contentious Cases”;

3. Go to “1998” (the year the case was brought);

4. Select the case concerning Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic
of the Congo);

5. Click on the “Written Proceedings” tab in the (grey) menu bar;

6. Go to the sub-heading “Reparation”.

*

Note to the press and public

1. The public sitting for the delivery of the J udgment will be held in the auditorium of The
Hague Academy of International Law, whose build ing is adjacent to the Peace Palace, where the
Court has its seat. Mobile telephones must be switched off.

2. Media representatives are subject to an online accreditation procedure , details of
which can be found in the Media Advisory attached to this Press Release. The accreditation
procedure will close at midnight on Thursday 14 June 2012.

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 on Thursday 14 June 2012.

4. This sitting will be broadcast live and in full on the Court’s website (via the
“multimedia” link), from 3p.m. local time. On the same day, it will also be made available for
three months as a recorded webcast (VOD) on the Court’s website. Shortly thereafter, it will be - 4 -

uploaded to the United Nations multimedia site ( http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/), where
it will remain archived.

5. 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 documents will be made available at the
same time on the Court’s website.

___________

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
It was established by the United Nations Char ter in June1945 and began its activities in
April1946. 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 questi ons referred to it by duly authorized United

Nations organs and agencies of the system. The Court is composed of 15judges 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 cont entious 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 adhoc court created by the

Security Council), the International Criminal Court (ICC, the first permanent international criminal
court, established by treaty, which does not bel ong to the United Nations system), the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL, an independent judicial body composed of Lebanese and international
judges, which is not a United Nations tribunal an d does not form part of the Lebanese judicial

system), or the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA, an independent institution which assists in
the establishment of arbitral tribunals and fac ilitates their work, in acco rdance with the Hague
Convention of 1899).

___________

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) Annex to Press Release No. 2012/19

Media advisory

Ahmadou Sadio Diallo

(Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Question of compensation

Accreditation procedure for the delivery of the Court’s Judgment
on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at 3 p.m.

Reading to be broadcast live and in full

Media representatives are required to fill out the online accreditation form, available on the

Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org ) under “Calendar”. Applications for accreditation must reach
the Court by midnight on Thursday 14June2012 . Only online application forms will be
accepted. Each application will be checked by the Information Department, and replies will be sent
by e-mail. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Entry to the Peace Palace

Media representatives must bring with them their personal ID and press card. They are

asked to arrive at the Peace Palace gates between 1.30 and 2.30p.m. Only duly accredited
individuals with valid identification will be permitted to enter the Peace Palace grounds.

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. NB: Television media wishi ng to broadcast a live reading of the Judgment
should contact the Information Department in advance, as the sitting will take place in a temporary
courtroom.

Access to the courtroom

Media representatives should take particular not e of the fact that, owing to the renovation of

the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace, where the Court has its seat, this public sitting will be
held in the auditorium of The Hague Academy of International Law, whose building is adjacent to
the Palace. Chairs reserved for media representativ es are located on the far left of the auditorium.
However, photographers and camera crews are only permitted to enter the room for a few minutes

at the start of the sitting. Photographers and came ra crews must keep to the right-hand side of the
auditorium.

Press room

Proceedings will be transmitted live in Eng lish and French to the temporary Press Room,
located in the “seminar” room. The room is equipped with Wi-Fi and modem internet access. Live
video and audio feeds are available via the breakout box (PAL video output). The Press Room will

be open between 1.30 and 5p.m. on the day of the sitting. Please note that all media
representatives must leave the Peace Palace grounds by 5 p.m. - 2 -

Live webcast and multimedia files

The public sitting will be broadcast live and in ful l (in Flash format) on the Court’s
website (via the “Multimedia” link), from 3p.m. local time. It will also be made available as a
recorded webcast (VOD, in Flash format) on the Court’s website (for three months) and, shortly
after the sitting, will be uploaded to the United Nations multimedia site

(http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/), where it will be archived and available to view
permanently.

Three multimedia files in professional format (mpeg-2) will be available on the

“Multimedia” page of the Court’s website appr oximately one hour after the conclusion of the
sitting: (file 1) the reading of the operative part of the Judgment (detailing the decisions taken by
the Court) by the President of the Court, Judge Peter Tomka (in French); (file 2) the reading of the
operative part of the Judgment by the Registrar of the Court, Mr.PhilippeCouvreur (in English);

and (file 3) photographs taken from the side of the courtroom showing the Members of the Court,
the representatives of the Parties and the rest of the courtroom during the sitting.

___________

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)