Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. Pakistan) - Extension of the time-limit for the filing of Pakistan's

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
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Press Release

Unofficial

No. 2015/19
14 July 2015

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

Extension of the time-limit for the filing of Pakistan’s Counter-Memorial

THE HAGUE, 14 July 2015. The President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the
principal judicial organ of the United Nations, by an Order dated 9 July 2015, has extended from
17 July 2015 to 1 December 2015 the time-limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorial of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the questions of the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility
of the Application in the case of Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the
Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. Pakistan).

The subsequent procedure has been reserved for further decision.

The decision to extend the time-limit was made taking account of the views of the Parties.

In his Order, the President indicates that, by a Note Verbale dated 2 July 2015, the
Government of Pakistan requested a six-month extension of the time-limit for the filing of its
Counter-Memorial on the questions of the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the
Application.

The President also indicates that, by a letter dated 8 July 2015, the Government of the
Marshall Islands informed the Court that, for the reasons given in that letter, it “would be
comfortable with the Court’s expanding the initial six-month time-limit [for the filing of the
Counter-Memorial of Pakistan] to nine months in total, counting from the [date of the filing of the
Marshall Islands’] Memorial”.

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History of the proceedings

For the history of the proceedings, please see the Court’s 2013-2014 Annual Report
(paragraphs 214-218), which can be found on its website (www.icj-cij.org) under “The
Court/Annual Reports/2013-2014”. The full text of the Order of 9 July 2015 is available on the
Court’s website under “Cases/Contentious Cases”.

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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
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twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by
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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 international judicial body with an independent legal personality,
established by the United Nations Security Council upon the request of the Lebanese Government

and composed of Lebanese and international judges), 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)