Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) - Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica) - Nicaragua requests

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. 2013/27
15 October2013

Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area
(Costa Rica v. Nicaragua)

Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River
(Nicaragua v. Costa Rica)

Nicaragua requests the Court to indicate provisional measures

THE HAGUE, 15 October2013. In the evening of 11 October 2013, the Republic of
Nicaragua filed in the Registry of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial
organ of the United Nations, a Request for the indic ation of provisional measures in the cases
concerning Certain Activit ies carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v.
Nicaragua) (hereinafter “the Costa Rica v. Nicaragua case”) and Construction of a Road in
Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica) (hereinafter “the Nicaragua v.
Costa Rica case”).

In its request, Nicaragua recalls that it pointed out , in its Counter -Memorial of
6 August 2012 in the Costa Rica v. Nicaragua case, “that the construction by Costa Rica of a
160 km road running along the margin of the San Juan River constituted the most egregious
violation of the Order of the Court of 8 March 2011” indicating provisional measures.

Nicaragua further claims that “Costa Rica’s road works have caused a surge in th e San Juan
River’s sediment load requiring Ni caragua to take active efforts, including dredging, to maintain
the quality and quantity of the river’s waters ”. Nicaragua also alleges that “Costa Rica has
repeatedly refused to give Nicaragua appropriate infor mation on the road works” and “has denied

that it has any obligation toprepare an Environmental Impact Assessment or to provide such a
document to Nicaragua”.

Nicaragua adds that it had “sent an international team of environmental scientists and road
construction experts to inspect the River in October 2012” and that this team had “confirmed that
Costa Rica had not taken measures to stop or even mitigate the serious harms caused to the San
Juan”. Nicaragua further adds that, “in anticipation of the secon d heavy rainy season since the
construction of the road began, [it] sent the same team on a second mission in May 2013” and that
its experts then “underscored the urgent need for the mitigation measures previously presented by

Nicaragua to the Court”. - 2 -

Nicaragua goes on to say that, “[a]s the rainy season enters into its heaviest stage washing
even greater quantities of sediments and run -off into the river’s waters , Costa Rica has still not

provided the necessary information to Nicaragua, nor has it taken t he necessary actions along the
160 km [long] road to avoid or mitigate the irreparable damage that is being infl icted on the river
and its surrounding environment , including on navigation and the health and wellbeing of the
population living along its margins”.

Nicaragua points out that it requests “the adoption of new provisional measures linked with
the Nicaragua v. Costa Rica case . . . in order to avoid a continued and irreparable damage to [it s]

rights”.

Nicaragua, therefore, “respectfully requests t he Court, as a matter of urgency to prevent
further damage to the River and to avoid aggravation of the dispute, to order the following
provisional measures:

1. that Costa Rica immediately and unconditionally provides Nicaragua with the Environmental
Impact Assessment Study and all technical reports and assessments on the measures necessary

to mitigate significant environmental harm to the River;

2. that Costa Rica immediately takes the following emergency measures:

(a) Reduce the rate and frequency of road fill failure slumps and landslides where the road crosses
the steeper hill slopes, especially in locations where failed or eroded soil materials have been or
could potentially be delivered to the Río San Juan.

(b) Eliminate or significantly reduce the risk of future erosion and sediment delivery at all stream

crossings along Route 1856.

(c) Immediately reduce road surface erosion and sediment delivery by improving dispersion of
concentrated road runoff and increasing the number and frequency of road drainage structures.

(d) Control surface erosion and resultant sediment delivery from ba re soil areas that were exposed
during clearing, grubbing and construction activities in the last several years.

3. Order Costa Rica not to renew any construction activities of the road while the Court is seised
of the present case.”

Nicaragua adds that it “reserves its right to amend and modify the measures sought in light
of any situation that might arise”.

*

In view of the date on which Nicaragua’s request for the indicat ion of provisional measures
was submitted, the Court has decided that it will not hear the Parties on that request at the same
time as on the request transmitted by Costa Rica to the Court on 24 September 2013, on which
public hearings are currently being held, but that it would hold separate hearings for that purpose in
early November 2013. The schedule for those hearings will be made public at a later date.

* - 3 -

On 17 April 2013, the proceedings in the Costa Rica v. Nicaragua case and in the case
concerning the Nicaragua v. Costa Rica case were joined by the Court “in conformity with the

principle of the sound administration of justice and with the need for judicial economy”.

*

Full text of the Request

The full text of Nicaragua’s Request will be available shortly on the Court’s website under
the heading “Contentious cases”, in the documentation for the Nicaragua v. Costa Rica case.

*

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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)