Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal) - The Court to deliver its Judgment on Friday 20 July 2012 at 3 p.m. - Reading to be broadcast live on the Court's w

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. 2012/23
16 July 2012

Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite
(Belgium v. Senegal)

The Court to deliver its Judgment on Friday 20 July 2012 at 3 p.m.

Reading to be broadcast live on the Court’s website

THE HAGUE, 16July2012. On Friday 20July2012, the International Court of Justice
(ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Judgment in the case
concerning Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal).

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 renovation of the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace
Palace, where the Court usually sits, this public sitting will be held in the Japanese Room on the
first floor of the Peace Palace. There are only a very limited number of seats available in the
Japanese Room. Additional seating will, however, be provided in the Small Hall of Justice on the
ground floor of the Palace, where the public sitting will be shown live on a large screen.

History of proceedings

On 19 February 2009, Belgium instituted pro ceedings against Senegal, on the grounds that a
dispute exists “between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Senegal regarding Senegal’s

compliance with its obligation to prosecute” the former President of Chad, HissèneHabré, “or to
extradite him to Belgium for the purposes of criminal proceedings”.

In its Application, Belgium maintains that Senegal, where Mr. Habré has been living in exile
since 1990, has taken no action on its repeated re quests to see the former President of Chad

prosecuted in Senegal, failing his extradition to Belgium, for acts characterized as including crimes
of torture and crimes against humanity (see Annual Report 2008-2009 et seq.).

To found the Court’s jurisdiction, Belgium, in its Application, invokes the unilateral
declarations recognizing the compulsory jurisdictio n of the Court made by the Parties pursuant to

Articl36, paragraph2, of the Statute of the Court, on 1June1958 (Belgium) and
2 December 1985 (Senegal). - 2 -

Moreover, the Applicant indicates that “[t]he two States [are] parties to the United Nations
Convention against Torture of 10December1984”. The Convention was ratified by Senegal on

21 August 1986, without reservation, and became binding on it on 26June1987, the date of its
entry into force. Belgium ratified the Conve ntion on 25June1999, w ithout reservation, and
became bound by it on 25July1999. Article30 of that Convention provides that any dispute
between two States parties concerning the interpre tation or application of the Convention which it

has not been possible to settle through negotiation or arbitration may be submitted to the ICJ by
one of those States. Belgium contends that ne gotiations between the two States “have continued
unsuccessfully since 2005” and that it reached the co nclusion on 20 June 2006 that they had failed.
Belgium states, moreover, that it suggested recour se to arbitration to Sene gal on 20 June 2006 and

notes that Senegal “failed to respond to that request... whereas Belgium has persistently
confirmed in Notes Verbales that a dispute on this subject continues to exist”.

At the end of its Application, Belgium requests the Court to adjudge and declare that:

“⎯the Court has jurisdiction to entertain the dispute between the Kingdom of
Belgium and the Republic of Senegal regarding Senegal’s compliance with its
obligation to prosecute Mr.H.Habré or to extradite him to Belgium for the

purposes of criminal proceedings;

⎯ Belgium’s claim is admissible;

⎯ the Republic of Senegal is obliged to bring criminal proceedings against
Mr.H.Habré for acts including crimes of torture and crimes against humanity
which are alleged against him as perpetrator, co-perpetrator or accomplice;

⎯ failing the prosecution of Mr.H.Habré, the Republic of Senegal is obliged to
extradite him to the Kingdom of Belgium so that he can answer for these crimes
before the Belgian courts”.

Belgium’s Application was accompanied by a request for the indication of provisional
measures. It explains therein that while “Mr.H.Habré is [at present] under house arrest in
Dakar . . . it transpires from an interview which the President of Senegal, A. Wade, gave to Radio

France International that Senegal could lift his hous e arrest if it fails to find the budget which it
regards as necessary in order to hold the trial of Mr. H. Habré”. The Applicant states that, “in such
an event, it would be easy for Mr.H.Habré to leave Senegal and avoi d any prosecution”, which
“would cause irreparable prejudice to the rights conferred on Belgium by international law . . . and

also violate the obligations which Senegal must fulfil”.

Public hearings were held from 6 to 8 April 20 09 to hear the oral observations of the Parties
on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Belgium.

At the close of the hearings, Belgium asked the Court to indicate the following provisional
measures: “the Republic of Senegal is requested to take all the steps within its power to keep
Mr. Hissène Habré under the control and surveillance of the Senegalese authorities so that the rules

of international law with which Belgium requests compliance may be correctly applied”. For its
part, Senegal asked the Court “to reject the provisional measures requested by Belgium”.

In its Order made on 28 May 2009, the Court found, by thirteen votes to one, that “the

circumstances, as they [then] present[ed] themse lves to [it], [were] not such as to require the
exercise of its power . . . to indicate provisional measures” (see Annual Report 2010-2011). - 3 -

By an Order of 9 July 2009, the Court fixed 9 July 2010 as the time-limit for the filing of a
Memorial by the Kingdom of Belgium and 11July2011 as the time-limit for the filing of a

Counter-Memorial by the Republic of Senegal. The Memorial of Belgium was filed within the
time-limit thus fixed.

By an Order of 11 July 2011, the President of the Court extended the time-limit for the filing

of the Counter-Memorial of the Republic of Se negal from 11July2011 to 29August2011. The
Counter-Memorial was filed within the time-limit thus extended.

Public hearings were held from 12 to 21 March 2012. At the conclusion of those hearings

the Parties presented their final submissions to the Court:

For the Kingdom of Belgium:

“For the reasons set out in its Memorial and during the oral proceedings, the Kingdom of

Belgium requests the International Court of Justice to adjudge and declare that:

1. (a) Senegal breached its internati onal obligations by failing to incorporate in due time in its
domestic law the provisions necessary to enable the Senegalese judicial authorities to

exercise the universal jurisdiction provided for in Article 5, paragraph 2, of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

(b) Senegal has breached and continues to breach its international obligations under Article 6,

paragraph 2, and Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and under other rules of international law
by failing to bring criminal proceedings against Mr. Hissène Habré for acts characterized in

particular as crimes of torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide
alleged against him as perpetrator, co-perpetrator or accomplice, or, otherwise, to extradite
him to Belgium for the purposes of such criminal proceedings;

(c) Senegal may not invoke financial or other difficulties to justify the breaches of its

international obligations.

2. Senegal is required to cease these internationally wrongful acts

(a) by promptly submitting the Hissène Habré case to its competent authorities for prosecution;
or

(b) failing that, by extraditing Mr. Habré to Belgium without further ado.”

For the Republic of Senegal:

“In the light of all the arguments and reasons contained in its Counter-Memorial, in its oral

pleadings and in the replies to the questions put to it by judges, whereby Senegal has declared and
sought to demonstrate that, in the present case, it has duly fulfilled its international commitments
and has not committed any internationally wrongful act, I would ask the Court, on behalf of my
country, to find in its favour on the following submissions and to adjudge and declare that:

1. Principally, it cannot adjudicate on the merits of the Application filed by the Kingdom of
Belgium because it lacks jurisdiction as a resu lt of the absence of a dispute between Belgium
and Senegal, and the inadmissibility of that Application;

2. In the alternative, should it find that it has jurisdiction and that Belgium’s Application is
admissible, that Senegal has not breached any of the provisions of the 1984 Convention against
Torture, in particular those prescribing the ob ligation to “try or extradite” (Article6, - 4 -

paragraph 2, and Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention), or, more generally, any other rule
of conventional law, general international law or customary international law in this area;

3. In taking the various measures that have been described, Senegal is fulfilling its commitments
as a State Party to the 1984 Convention against Torture;

4. In taking the appropriate measures and steps to prepare for the trial of Mr. H. Habré, Senegal is
complying with the declaration by which it made a commitment before the Court.

5. It consequently rejects all the requests set forth in the Application of the Kingdom of Belgium.”

*

Note to the press and public

1. The public sitting for the delivery of the Judgment will be held in the Japanese Room on

the first floor of the Peace Palace. There are only a very limited number of seats available in the
Japanese Room. Additional seating will, however, be provided in the Small Hall of Justice on the
ground floor of the Palace, where the public sitting will be shown live on a large screen. 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 Wednesday 18 July 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 Wednesday 18 July 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 after the reading, it will
be 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 docum ents 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 - 5 -

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 ad hoc 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. 2012/23

Media advisory

Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite
(Belgium v. Senegal)

Accreditation procedure for the delivery of the Court’s Judgment

on Friday 20 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 Wednesday 18July2012 . 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 p.m. and 2.30 p.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 note 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 Japanese Room, on the first floor of the Peace Palace. Chairs reserved for media
representatives are located at the back of the room. Photographers and camera crews are only

permitted to enter the room for a few minutes at the start of the sitting. Photographers and camera
crews must keep to the right-hand side of the room.

Press room

Proceedings will be transmitted live in English and French to the Press 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 p.m. and 6 p.m. on

the day of the sitting. Please note that all media representatives must leave the Peace Palace
grounds by 6 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)