Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India) - Fixing of time-limits for filing of pleadings on the questio

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. 2014/22
19 June 2014

Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race
and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India)

Fixing of time-limits for filing of pleadings on the question of jurisdiction

THE HAGUE, 19 June 2014. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial
organ of the United Nations, has fixed time-limits for filing of pleadings on the question of
jurisdiction in the case of Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear
Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India).

By an Order of 16 June 2014, the Court fixed 16 December 2014 and 16 June 2015 as

respective time-limits for the filing of a Memorial by the Republic of the Marshall Islands and a
Counter-Memorial by the Republic of India.

In its Order, the Court states that “by a letter dated 28 April 2014, the Registrar invited the
representatives of the Marshall Islands and India to a meeting with the President of the Court to be
held on 11 June 2014, pursuant to Article 31 of the Rules of Court, in order for the President to
ascertain the views of the Parties with regard to questions of procedure in the case”.

It also indicates that, “by a letter dated 6 June 2014, the Ambassador of the Republic of India
to the Kingdom of the Netherlands informed the Court, inter alia, that “India . . . considers that the
International Court of Justice does not have jurisdiction in the alleged dispute”.

According to the Order, by a subsequent letter dated 10 June 2014, the Ambassador of the
Republic of India to the Kingdom of the Netherlands indicated that “India regrets to inform [the
Court] that it will not be able to participate in the proposed meeting” to be held by the President
with the representatives of the Parties.

The Order goes on to state that, “on 11 June 2014, the President of the Court met with the
representatives of the Marshall Islands . . . and . . . at that meeting, the Marshall Islands expressed
the view that, if the Court were to order a first round of written pleadings dedicated to the question
of its jurisdiction, a time-limit of six months would be sufficient for the preparation of a pleading
on that question”.

Finally, “the Court considers, pursuant to Article 79, paragraph 2, of its Rules, that, in the

circumstances of the case, it is necessary to resolve first of all the question of the Court’s
jurisdiction, and that this question should accordingly be separately determined before any - 2 -

proceedings on the merits”. Therefore, the Court decided that the written pleadings shall first be
addressed to the question of the jurisdiction of the Court.

The subsequent procedure has been reserved for further decision.

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History of the proceedings

The history of the proceedings can be found in Press Release No. 2014/18 of 25 April 2014,

available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org) under the heading “Press Room”/“Press
Releases”.

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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in
April 1946. 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 questions referred to it by duly authorized United
Nations organs and agencies of the system. The Court is composed of 15 judges 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 contentious 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 belong 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 and 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 facilitates their work, in accordance with the Hague
Convention of 1899).

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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)