Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile) - Preliminary Objection to the jurisdiction of the Court - The Court to deliver its Judgment on Thursday 24 September 2015

2015/22 No.
2015 September 9

Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile)

The Court to deliver its Judgment on Thursday 24 September 2015

THE HAGUE, 9 September 2015. On Thursday 24 September 2015, the International Court
of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Judgment on the
preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the Co urt raised by the Republic of Chile in the case

concerning the Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile).

A public sitting will take place at 3 p.m. (The Ha gue time) in the Great Hall of Justice at the
Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court, during which the President of the Court,
Judge Ronny Abraham, will read the Court’s decision.

It is recalled that Judgments of the Court ha ve binding force and are without appeal for the
parties concerned.

History of the proceedings

The history of the proceedings can be found in the Annual Report of the Court 2013-2014
(paragraphs 156 to 165), and in Press Releases No. 2015/8 of 16 February 2015 and No. 2015/13 of
8 May 2015, all of which are available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org).

A. Admission procedures

Owing to the limited number of seats available
will be given to representatives of the States parti es to the case, and to members of the diplomatic

corps.

1. Members of the diplomatic corps

The Information Department requests members of the diplomatic corps who plan to attend

the reading of the Judgment to notify it accordingly
22 September 2015 (The Hague time), by e-mail to [email protected]. - 2 -

2. Members of the public

A number of seats will be allocated to members of the public on a first-come,
first-served basis. There will be no advance registra tion procedure, and admission requests
submitted beforehand will not be considered.

3. Media representatives

Media representatives are subject to an on line accreditation procedure, which will close at
midnight on Monday 21 September2015 . Requests submitted after this deadline will not be

considered. For full details (timetable, techni cal facilities, etc.), see the section below entitled
“Further practical information for the media”.

Video streaming

It will be possible to watch the reading, e ither live or later on demand (VOD), on two
channels: (1) the Court’s website (Multimedia Gallery); and (2) the United Nations online
television channel (webtv.un.org), either under “Live Now”, or in VOD under “Meetings &

Events/ICJ”.

B. Further practical information for the media

1. Entry to the Peace Palace

The Press Room will be open from 1 to 6 p.m. Accredited media representatives must bring

with them their personal ID and press card. They are asked to arrive at the Peace Palace gates
between 1 and 2.30 p.m. Only duly accredited individuals with valid identification will be
permitted to enter the Peace Palace grounds.

2. Parking at the Peace Palace, satellite vehicles

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. Televised media wishing to broadcast the sitting live should contact the

Information Department as soon as possible to ma ke the necessary arrangements, and in any case
not later than Monday 21 September 2015. Satellite vehicle technicians/drivers will be informed
in due course of the access times for the Peace Palace grounds.

3. Access to the courtroom

Photographers and camera crews will only be permitted to enter the courtroom between
2.40and 3.05 p.m. They will be accompanied by Registry staff members and must keep to the

right-hand side of the room.

4. Press Room

The reading will be transmitted live on a large screen, in English and French, in a press room
equipped with a shared Internet access (Wi-Fi, Et hernet). TV crews can connect to the Court’s
PAL (HD and SD) and NTSC (SD) audio-visual system and radio reporters to the audio system. - 3 -

5. Videos, still photographs

Video files (SD/MPEG2 and HD/MPEG4) and still photos produced by the Registry during
the sitting on 24 September 2015 will be available free of charge, for non-commercial use, at the
close of the proceedings (to download, click on www.icj-cij.org/multimedia).

6. Other media services

For further practical information (on request s for interviews, TV stand-up positions, audio
and video outputs available, etc.), please visit the Court’s website. Click on “Press Room”, and

then on “Media Services”.

___________

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 in ternational 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 Yu goslavia (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 international judici al body with an independent legal personality,
established by the United Nations Security Counc il upon the request of the Lebanese Government

and composed of Lebanese and in ternational judges), or the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA,
an independent institution which assists in the est ablishment of arbitral tribunals and facilitates
their work, in accordance 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)