INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
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Website: www.icj-cij.org
2009/4 Summary
13 July 2009
Case concerning the Dispute regarding Navigational and Related Rights
(Costa Rica v. Nicaragua)
Summary of the Judgment of 13 July 2009
The Court begins by recalling that, on 29September2005, the Republic of Costa Rica
(hereinafter “Costa Rica”) filed in the Registry of the Court an Application instituting proceedings
against the Republic of Nicaragua (hereinafter “Nic aragua”) with regard to a “dispute concerning
navigational and related rights of Costa Rica on the San Juan River”.
The Court observes that, in its Application, Costa Rica seeks to found the jurisdiction of the
Court on the declaration it made on 20 February 1973 under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute,
as well as on the declaration which Nicaragua ma de on 24 September 1929 under Article 36 of the
Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice and which is deemed, pursuant to
Article 36, paragraph 5, of the Statute of the pres ent Court, for the period which it still has to run,
to be acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of this Court. CostaRica also seeks to found the
jurisdiction of the Court on the Tovar-Caldera Agreement signed between the Parties on
26September2002. In addition, CostaRica invok es as a basis of the Court’s jurisdiction the
provisions of ArticleXXXI of the American Trea ty on Pacific Settlement, officially designated,
according to Article LX thereof, as the “Pact of Bogotá”.
The Court notes that in its final submissions , Costa Rica requests the Court to adjudge and
declare that Nicaragua is in breach of its interna tional obligations in denying to Costa Rica the free
exercise of its rights of navigation and associated rights on the San Juan River. In particular, Costa
Rica requests the Court to adjudge and declare that,
“by its conduct, the Republic of Nicaragua has violated:
(a) the obligation to allow all Costa Ricanvessels and their passengers to navigate
freely on the San Juan for purposes of commerce, including communication and
the transportation of passengers and tourism;
(b) the obligation not to impose any charg es or fees on Costa Rican vessels and their
passengers for navigating on the River;
(c)the obligation not to require persons exercising the right of free navigation on the
River to carry passports or obtain Nicaraguan visas; - 2 -
(d) the obligation not to require Costa Rica n vessels and their passengers to stop at
any Nicaraguan post along the River;
(e) the obligation not to impose other impediments on the exercise of the right of free
navigation, including timetables for navigation and conditions relating to flags;
(f) the obligation to allow Co sta Rican vessels and their passengers while engaged in
such navigation to land on any part of the bank where navigation is common
without paying any charges, unless expressly agreed by both Governments;
(g)the obligation to allow Costa Rican offi cial vessels the right to navigate the
San Juan, including for the purposes of re-supply and exchange of personnel of the
border posts along the right bank of the River with their official equipment,
including service arms and ammunition, and for the purposes of protection as
established in the relevant instruments, a nd in particular the Second article of the
Cleveland Award;
(h) the obligation to facilitate and expedite traffic on the San Juan, within the terms of
the Treaty of 15 April 1858 and its interpretation by the Cleveland Award of 1888,
in accordance with Article 1 of the bilateral Agreement of 9 January 1956;
(i) the obligation to permit riparians of the Costa Rican bank to fish in the River for
subsistence purposes.”
Further, Costa Rica requests the Court to adju dge and declare that by reason of the above
violations,
“Nicaragua is obliged:
(a) immediately to cease all the breaches of obligations which have a continuing
character;
(b) to make reparation to Costa Rica for a ll injuries caused to Costa Rica by the
breaches of Nicaragua’s obligations referred to above, in the form of the
restoration of the situation prior to th e Nicaraguan breaches and compensation in
an amount to be determined in a separate phase of these proceedings; and
(c) to give appropriate assurances and guarant ees that it shall not repeat its unlawful
conduct, in such form as the Court may order.”
Costa Rica also requests the Court to reject Nicaragua’s request for a declaration.
In its final submissions, Nicaragua requests the Court to adjudge and declare that the
requests presented by Costa Rica
“are rejected in general, and in particular, on the following bases:
(a) either because there is no breach of th e provisions of the Treaty of Limits of
15 April 1858 or any other international obligation of Nicaragua;
(b) or, as appropriate, because the obligation breach of which is alleged, is not an
obligation under the provisions of the Tr eaty of Limits of 15 April 1858 or under
general international law.”
Moreover Nicaragua requests the Court to make a formal declaration on the issues raised in
its Counter-Memorial and its Rejoinder, and as reiterated at the hearings: - 3 -
“(i) Costa Rica is obliged to comply with the regulations for navigation (and
landing) in the San Juan imposed by Nicaraguan authorities in particular
related to matters of health and security;
(ii) Costa Rica has to pay for any speci al services provided by Nicaragua in the
use of the San Juan either for navigation or landing on the Nicaraguan banks;
(iii)Costa Rica has to comply w ith all reasonable charges for modern
improvements in the navigation of the ri ver with respect to its situation in
1858;
(iv) revenue service boats may only be u sed during and with special reference to
actual transit of the merchandise authorized by Treaty;
(v) Nicaragua has the right to dredge the San Juan in order to return the flow of
water to that obtaining in 1858 even if this affects the flow of water to other
present day recipients of this flow such as the Colorado River.”
Reasoning of the Court
I. G EOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND ORIGIN OF THE DISPUTE
Referring to the geographical and historical context of the case, the Court notes that the
Governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua reached agreement on 15April1858 on a Treaty of
Limits, which was ratified by CostaRica on 16 April1858 and by Nicaragua on 26April1858.
The 1858Treaty of Limits fixed the course of the boundary between Costa Rica and Nicaragua
from the Pacific Ocean to the Ca ribbean Sea. Between a point threeEnglish miles from Castillo
Viejo, a town in Nicaraguan territory, and the Caribbean Sea, the Treaty fixed the boundary along
the right bank of the San Juan river. It established Nicaragua’s dominion and sovereign jurisdiction
over the waters of the San Juan river, but at the same time affirmed Costa Rica’s navigational rights
“con objetos de comercio” on the lower course of the river.
Following challenges by Nicaragua on various occasions to the validity of the 1858Treaty,
the Parties submitted the question to arbitration by the President of the United States. The Parties
agreed in addition that if the 1858 Treaty were found to be valid, President Cleveland should also
decide whether Costa Rica could navigate the San Juan river with vessels of war or of the revenue
service. In his Award rendered on 22March1888, PresidentCleveland held that the 1858Treaty
was valid. He further stated, with reference to ArticleVI of the 1858Treaty, that CostaRica did
not have the right of navigation on the River SanJuan with vessel s of war, but that it could
navigate with such vessels of the Revenue Serv ice as may be connected to navigation “for the
purposes of commerce”.
On 5August1914, Nicaragua signed a treaty with the United States (the Chamorro-Bryan
Treaty) which granted the United States perpetual and “exclusive proprietary rights” for the
construction and maintenance of an inter-ocean ic canal through the SanJuan river. On
24March1916 CostaRica filed a case against Nica ragua before the Central American Court of
Justice claiming that Nicaragua had breached its obligation to consult with CostaRica prior to
entering into any canalization project in accordan ce with ArticleVIII of the 1858Treaty. On
30 September 1916, the Central American Court of Justice ruled that, by not consulting Costa Rica,
Nicaragua had violated the rights guaranteed to the latter by the 1858Treaty of Limits and the
1888 Cleveland Award. - 4 -
On 9 January 1956 Costa Rica and Nicaragua c oncluded an Agreement (the Fournier-Sevilla
Agreement) according to the terms of which the par ties agreed to facilitate and expedite traffic in
particular through the San Juan river and agreed to co-operate to safeguard the common border.
In the 1980s various incidents started to o ccur relating to the navigational régime of the
SanJuan river. During that period Nicaragua introduced certain restrictions on Costa Rican
navigation on the San Juan river which it justifie d as temporary, exceptional measures to protect
Nicaragua’s national security in the context of an armed conflict. Some of the restrictions were
suspended when Costa Rica protested. During the mi d-1990s further measures were introduced by
Nicaragua, including the charging of fees fo r passengers travelling on Costa Rican vessels
navigating on the San Juan river and the requirement for Costa Rican vessels to stop at Nicaraguan
Army posts along the river.
In July 1998 further disagreements between th e Parties regarding the extent of Costa Rica’s
navigational rights on the San Juan river led to the adoption by Nicaragua of certain measures. In
particular, on 14July1998, Nicaragua prohib ited the navigation of CostaRican vessels that
transported members of Costa Rica’s police force. On 30July1998, the Nicaraguan Minister of
Defence and the CostaRican Minister of Public Security signed a document, known as the
Cuadra-Lizano Joint Communiqué. The text allo wed for CostaRican armed police vessels to
navigate on the river to re-supply their boundary posts on the CostaRican side, provided that the
Costa Rican agents in those vessels only carried their service arms and prior notice was given to the
Nicaraguan authorities, which could decide on whether the CostaRican vessels should be
accompanied by a Nicaraguan escort. On 11August 1998, Nicaragua declared that it considered
the Cuadra-Lizano Joint Communiqué to be legally null and void. CostaRica did not accept this
unilateral declaration. Differences regarding the navigational régime on the SanJuan river
persisted between the Parties.
On 24October2001, Nicaragua made a r eservation to its declaration accepting the
jurisdiction of the Court, according to which it w ould no longer accept the jurisdiction of the Court
in regard to “any matter or claim based on interpreta tions of treaties or arbitral awards that were
signed and ratified or made, respectively, prior to 31December1901”. Under the Tovar-Caldera
Agreement, signed by the Parties on 26Septem ber2002, Nicaragua agreed to a three year
moratorium with regard to the reservation it ha d made in 2001 to its declaration accepting the
jurisdiction of the Court. For its part, Costa Rica agreed that during the same three year period it
would not initiate any action before the International Court of Justice nor before any other authority
on any matter or protest mentioned in treaties or agreements currently in force between both
countries.
Once the agreed three year pe riod had elapsed without the Parties having been able to settle
their differences, CostaRica, on 29September 2005, instituted proceedings before the Court
against Nicaragua with regard to its disputed navi gational and related rights on the San Juan river.
Nicaragua has not raised any objections to the jurisdiction of the Court to entertain the case.
II.C OSTA R ICA’S RIGHT OF FREE NAVIGATION
ON THE SAN J UAN RIVER
The Court recalls that the Parties agree that CostaRica possesses a right of free navigation
on the section of the San Juan river where the ri ght bank, i.e., the CostaRican side, marks the
border between the two States by virtue of the Treaty of Limits concluded between them on
15April1858. While it is not contested that the section of the river thus defined belongs to
Nicaragua, since the border lies on the Costa Rican bank, with Costa Rica possessing a right of free
navigation, the Parties differ both as to the legal basi s of that right and, above all, as to its precise
extent, in other words as to the types of navigation which it covers. - 5 -
1. The legal basis of the right of free navigation
The Court observes that it does not consider that it is required to take a position in this case
on whether and to what extent there exists, in cust omary international law, a régime applicable to
navigation on “international rivers”, either of unive rsal scope or of a regional nature covering the
geographical area in which the SanJuan is situated . Nor does it consider, as a result, that it is
required to settle the question of whether the San Juan falls into the category of “international
rivers”, as Costa Rica maintains, or is a national ri ver which includes an international element, that
being the argument of Nicaragua. For the Court, the 1858 Treaty of Limits completely defines the
rules applicable to the section of the San Juan rive r that is in dispute in respect of navigation.
Interpreted in the light of the other treaty provisions in force between the Parties, and in accordance
with the arbitral or judicial decisions rendered on it, that Treaty is sufficient to settle the question of
the extent of Costa Rica’s right of free navigation.
The Court points out that the main provision which founds CostaRica’s right of free
navigation is contained in Article VI of the 1858 Tr eaty. This has been the focus of the arguments
exchanged between the Parties as to the extent of the right of navigation on the SanJuan.
ArticleVI, after conferring on Nicaragua full a nd exclusive sovereignty (“exclusivamente el
dominio y sumo imperio”) over the whole of the Sa n Juan, grants Costa Rica, on the section of the
river which follows the border between the two Stat es, a perpetual right (“los derechos perpetuos”)
of free navigation “con objetos de comercio”, accord ing to the terms of the Spanish version of the
Treaty, which is the only authoritative one. In a ddition, ArticleVI gives vessels of both riparian
countries the right to land freely on either bank w ithout being subject to any taxes (“ninguna clase
de impuestos”), unless agreed by both Governments.
The Court notes that other provisions of the 1858 Treaty, though of less importance for the
purposes of the present case, are not without relevance as regards the right of navigation on the
river. This applies in particular to Article IV, which obliges Costa Rica to contribute to the security
of the river “for the part that belongs to her of the banks”, to Article VIII, which obliges Nicaragua
to consult CostaRica before entering into any ag reements with a third State for canalization or
transit on the river, and of course to Article II, which establishes the border as the Costa Rican bank
on the section of the river which is at issue in this dispute.
In the opinion of the Court, besides the 1858Treaty, mention should be made, among the
treaty instruments likely to have an effect on de termining the right of navigation on the river and
the conditions for exercising it, of the agreem ent concluded on 9January1956 between the two
States (known as the Fournier-Sevilla Agreement), wher eby the Parties agreed to collaborate to the
best of their ability, in particular in order to facilitate and expedite traffic on the San Juan in
accordance with the 1858 Treaty and the Arbitral Award made by President Cleveland in 1888.
The above-mentioned treaty instruments must be understood in the light of two important
decisions which settled differences that emerged between the Parties in determining their respective
rights and obligations: the Arbitral Award ma de by the President of the United States on
22 March 1888 (known as the Cleveland Award); a nd the decision rendered, on the application of
Costa Rica, by the Central American Court of Justice on 30 September 1916.
The first of these two decisions settled several questions concerning the interpretation of the
1858 Treaty which divided the Parties in that case; the second found that Nicaragua, by concluding
an agreement with the United States permitti ng the construction and maintenance of an
inter-oceanic canal through the SanJuan rive r, had disregarded CostaRica’s right under
Article VIII of that Treaty to be consulted before the conclusion of any agreement of that nature.
Although neither of these decisions directly settles the questions that are now before the
Court, they contain certain indications which it will be necessary to take into account for the
purposes of the present case. - 6 -
2. The extent of the right of free navigation attributed to Costa Rica
The Court observes that the Parties disagree cons iderably over the definition of the field of
application of the right of free navigation attributed to Costa Rica, i.e., as to the types of navigation
which are covered by the “perpetual right” gr anted to CostaRica by the 1858Treaty. Their
difference essentially concerns the interpretation of the words “libre navegación . . . con objetos de
comercio” in Article VI of the Treaty of Limits; th is brings with it a major disagreement as to the
definition of the activities covered by the right in question and of those which, not being thus
covered, are subject to Nicaragua’s sovereign power to authorize and regulate as it sees fit any
activity that takes place on its territory, of which the river forms part.
(a) The meaning and scope of the expression “libre navegación . . . con objetos de comercio”
The Court first gives the Spanish version of Article VI of the Treaty of Limits, together with
its own translation of this provision into English, leaving aside the phrase which divides the Parties.
The English translation of Article VI reads as follows:
“The Republic of Nicaragua shall have exclusive dominium and imperium over
the waters of the San Juan river from its origin in the lake to its mouth at the Atlantic
Ocean; the Republic of Costa Rica shall however have a perpetual right of free
navigation on the said waters between the mouth of the river and a point located three
English miles below Castillo Viejo, [con objetos de comercio] , whether with
Nicaragua or with the interior of Costa Rica by the rivers San Carlos or Sarapiquí or
any other waterway starting from the section of the bank of the San Juan established
as belonging to that Republic. The vessels of both countries may land
indiscriminately on either bank of the section of the river where navigation is
common, without paying any taxes, unless agreed by both Governments.”
The Court notes that the Parties’ disagreemen t is greatest on the meaning of the words “con
objetos de comercio”. For Nicaragua, the Spanis h version of this expr ession, which is the only
authoritative one, must be translated into French as “avec des marchandises de commerce” and into
English as “with articles of trade”; in other words, the “objetos” in question here are objects in the
concrete and material sense of the term. Con sequently, the freedom of navigation guaranteed to
Costa Rica by Article VI relates only to the trans port of goods intended to be sold in a commercial
exchange. For CostaRica, on the contrary, th e expression means in French “à des fins de
commerce” and in English “for the purposes of comme rce”; the “objetos” in the original text are
therefore said to be objects in the abstract sense of ends and purposes. Consequently, according to
CostaRica, the freedom of navigation given to it by the Treaty must be attributed the broadest
possible scope, and in any event encompasses not only the transport of goods but also the transport
of passengers, including tourists.
(iPreliminary observations
The Court points out that, in the first place, it is for it to interpret the provisions of a treaty in
the present case. It will do so in terms of customary international law on the subject, as reflected in
Articles 31 and 32 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, as the Court has stated
on several occasions (see Application of the Conv ention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports
2007, pp.109-110, para.160; see also Territorial Dispute (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Chad),
Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1994, pp. 21-22, para. 41). - 7 -
Consequently, neither the circumstance that Nicaragua is not a party to the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties nor the fact that the treaty which is to be interpreted here
considerably pre-dates the drafting of the said C onvention has the effect of preventing the Court
from referring to the principles of interpretation set forth in Articles31 and 32 of the Vienna
Convention.
In the second place, the Court is not convin ced by Nicaragua’s argument that CostaRica’s
right of free navigation should be interpreted narrowly because it represents a limitation of the
sovereignty over the river conferred by the Tr eaty on Nicaragua, that being the most important
principle set forth by Article VI.
For the Court, while it is certainly true that limitations of the sovereignty of a State over its
territory are not to be presumed, this does not mean that treaty provisions establishing such
limitations, such as those that are in issue in the present case, should for this reason be interpreted
a priori in a restrictive way. A treaty provision which has the purpose of limiting the sovereign
powers of a State must be interpreted like any ot her provision of a treaty, i.e., in accordance with
the intentions of its authors as reflected by the te xt of the treaty and the other relevant factors in
terms of interpretation.
In this respect, the Court notes that a simple reading of Article VI shows that the Parties did
not intend to establish any hierarchy as between Nicaragua’s sovereignty over the river and
Costa Rica’s right of free navigation, characterized as “perpetual”, with each of these affirmations
counter-balancing the other. Nicaragua’s sovereignty is affirmed only to the extent that it does not
prejudice the substance of Costa Rica’s right of fr ee navigation in its domain, the establishment of
which is precisely the point at issue; the right of free navigation, albeit “perpetual”, is granted only
on condition that it does not prejudice the key prerogatives of territorial sovereignty.
The Court concludes that there are thus no grounds for supposing, a priori , that the words
“libre navegación... con objetos de comerc io” should be given a specially restrictive
interpretation, any more than an extensive one.
Lastly, the Court observes that none of the poi nts under examination in this case was settled
by the Cleveland Award of 1888 or by the decision of the Central American Court of Justice of
1916. Each of the Parties has sought to use these previous decisions as an argument to support its
own case. However, these attempts do not convince the Court one way or the other.
The Cleveland Award confined itself to settli ng the questions of interpretation which the
Parties had expressly submitted to the arbitrator. Those questions did not concern the meaning of
the words “con objetos de comercio”; it is theref ore futile to seek in the Award the answer to a
question that was not put before the arbitrator. Consequently, while the Award declares that
CostaRica does not have the right, under the Treaty, to navigate on the SanJuan with vessels of
war, whereas it does have the right to do so with vessels of its revenue service, there is nothing to
be inferred from this with regard to vessels bel onging to the State and not falling into either of
those two categories. Likewise, while the ar bitrator used the words “for the purposes of
commerce” and placed them in quotation marks, it may be supposed that this was simply because
that was the English translation of the words “con objetos de comercio” which both Parties had
supplied to the arbitrator, who did not wish, in his interpretation of the Treaty, to go beyond the
questions which had been put before him.
As for the decision of the Central American Court of Justice of 1916, however important this
might be, its operative part was based only on the application of the express provisions of
Article VIII of the Treaty, which are not at issue in the present case. - 8 -
(ii) The meaning of the phrase “con objetos”
The Court observes that the Spanish word “ objetos” can, depending on its context, have
either of the two meanings put forward. Having examined the context here, the Court is of the
view that the interpretation advocated by Nicaragua cannot be upheld. The main reason for this is
that ascribing the meaning “with goods” or “with articles” to the phrase “con objetos” results in
rendering meaningless the entire sentence in which the phrase appears. By contrast, Costa Rica’s
interpretation of the words “con objetos” allows the entire sentence to be given coherent meaning.
The Court adds that this finding is supported by three additional arguments which all point to
the same conclusion.
First, “objetos” is used in another article of the 1858 Treaty, Article VIII, in which context it
can only have the abstract meaning of “purposes” or “subjects”: “Nicaragua se compromete á no
concluir otro (contrato) sobre los expresados objetos . . .” (“Nicaragua engages not to conclude any
other contract for those purposes...”). It is reasonable to infer that the Parties tended to
understand “objetos” in its abstract sense, or, at l east, that this meaning was familiar to them in
their treaty practice.
Second, a further indication may be deduced from the “Cañas-Martinez” Peace Treaty signed
by the Parties on 8 December 1857 but which was neve r ratified and hence did not enter into force.
On the question of navigation on the San Juan, this instrument, replaced by the 1858Treaty of
Limits, which repeats some of the earlier pr ovisions, included the expression “artículos de
comercio”, which undoubtedly translates as “articles” or “goods” of commerce. This would tend to
show that when the Parties at the time wished to refer to physical property giving rise to
commercial transactions, they used a term other than “objetos de comercio”, a term having the
advantage of being unambiguous.
Finally, the Court also considers it significan t that in 1887, when the two Parties each
submitted an English translation of the 1858 Treaty to President Cleveland for use in the arbitration
proceedings he was asked to conduct, even thoug h their translations were not identical on all
points, they did use the same phrase to render the original “con objetos de comercio”: “for the
purposes of commerce”.
It is therefore the meaning of “for the purposes of commerce” that is accepted by the Court.
(iii) The meaning of the word “commerce”
The Court then examines the meaning of the wo rd “commerce” in the context of Article VI.
In Nicaragua’s view, for purposes of the Treaty, “commerce” covers solely the purchase and sale of
merchandise, of physical goods, and excludes all services, such as passenger transport. It argues
that even if the phrase is translated as “for the purposes of commerce”, the result is the same,
because in 1858 the word “commerc e” necessarily meant trade in goods and did not extend to
services, the inclusion of services being a very recent development. Nicaragua contends that it is
important to give the words used in the Treaty the meaning they had at the time the Treaty was
concluded, not their current meaning, which can be quite different, because this is the only way to
remain true to the intent of the drafters of the Tr eaty; and determining that intent is the main task
in the work of interpretation.
Costa Rica argues that “commerce” as used in the Treaty takes in any activity in pursuit of
commercial purposes and includes, inter alia , the transport of passengers, tourists among them, as
well as of goods. For the Applicant, “commerc e” includes movement and contact between
inhabitants of the villages on the CostaRican bank of the SanJuan river, and the use of the river - 9 -
for purposes of navigation by CostaRican public officials providing the local population with
essential services, in areas such as health, education and security.
The Court finds that it can subscribe to ne ither the particularly broad interpretation
advocated by Costa Rica nor the excessively narrow one put forward by Nicaragua.
In respect of the first, the Court observes that , were it to be accepted, the result would be to
bring within the ambit of “navigation for the purpo ses of commerce” all, or virtually all, forms of
navigation on the river. If that had been the intent of the parties to the Treaty, it would be difficult
to see why they went to the trouble of specifying that the right of free navigation was guaranteed
“for the purposes of commerce”, given that this language would have had virtually no effect.
In respect of the narrow interpretation advan ced by Nicaragua, the Court notes that it is
supported mainly by two arguments: the first is based on the Respondent’s interpretation of the
phrase “con objetos”, which has just been reject ed; the second is based on the assertion that
“commerce” should be given the narrow meaning it ha d when the Treaty was entered into. The
Court does not agree with this second argument.
It is true that the terms used in a treaty must be interpreted in light of what is determined to
have been the parties’ common intention, whic h is, by definition, contemporaneous with the
treaty’s conclusion. That may lead a court seised of a dispute, or the parties themselves, when they
seek to determine the meaning of a treaty fo r purposes of good-faith compliance with it, to
ascertain the meaning a term had when the treaty w as drafted, since doing so can shed light on the
parties’ common intention. The Court has so pr oceeded in certain cases requiring it to interpret a
term whose meaning had evolved since the conclusion of the treaty at issue, and in those cases the
Court adhered to the original meaning (to this effect, see, for example, the Judgment of
27August1952 in the case concerning Rights of Na tionals of the United States of America in
Morocco (France v. United States of America) (I.C.J. Reports 1952 , p. 176), on the question of the
meaning of “dispute” in the context of a treaty concluded in 1836, the Court having determined the
meaning of this term in Morocco when th e treaty was concluded; the Judgment of
13December1999 in the case concerning Kasikili/Sedudu Island (Botswana/Namibia) (I.C.J.
Reports 1999 (II), p. 1062, para. 25) in respect of the m eaning of “centre of the main channel” and
“thalweg” when the Anglo-German Agreement of 1890 was concluded).
For the Court, however, this does not signify th at, where a term’s meaning is no longer the
same as it was at the date of conclusion, no account should ever be taken of its meaning at the time
when the treaty is to be interpreted for purposes of applying it.
On the one hand, the subsequent practice of the parties, within the meaning of
Article 31 (3) (b) of the Vienna Convention, can result in a departure from the original intent on the
basis of a tacit agreement between the parties. On the other hand, there are situations in which the
parties’ intent upon conclusion of the treaty was, or may be presumed to have been, to give the
terms used ⎯ orsomeofthem ⎯ a meaning or content capable of evolving, not one fixed once
and for all, so as to make allowance for, among othe r things, developments in international law. In
such instances it is indeed in or der to respect the parties’ commo n intention at the time the treaty
was concluded, not to depart from it, that account should be taken of the meaning acquired by the
terms in question upon each occasion on which the treaty is to be applied.
Thus, where the parties have used generic te rms in a treaty, the parties necessarily having
been aware that the meaning of the terms was likel y to evolve over time, and where the treaty has
been entered into for a very long period or is “of continuing duration”, the parties must be
presumed, as a general rule, to have intended tho se terms to have an evolving meaning. For the
Court, this is so in the present case in respect of the term “comercio” as used in Article VI of the
1858 Treaty. First, this is a generic term, refe rring to a class of activity. Second, the 1858 Treaty - 10 -
was entered into for an unlimited duration; from the outset it was intended to create a legal régime
characterized by its perpetuity.
The Court concludes from this that the terms by which the extent of CostaRica’s right of
free navigation has been defined, including in par ticular the term “comercio”, must be understood
to have the meaning they bear on each occasion on which the Treaty is to be applied, and not
necessarily their original meaning. Thus, even assuming that the notion of “commerce” does not
have the same meaning today as it did in the mi d-nineteenth century, it is the present meaning
which must be accepted for purposes of applying the Treaty.
Accordingly, the Court finds that the right of free navigation in question applies to the
transport of persons as well as the transport of goods, as the activity of transporting persons can be
commercial in nature nowadays. This is the ca se if the carrier engages in the activity for
profit-making purposes. The Court sees no persuasive reason to exclude the transport of tourists
from this category.
(b) The activities covered by the right of free navigation belonging to Cost
a Rica
(iPrivatenavigation
The Court considers that two types of private navigation are certainly covered by the right of
free navigation pursuant to Article VI of the 1858 Tr eaty: the navigation of vessels carrying goods
intended for commercial transactions; and that of vessels carrying passengers who pay a price
other than a token price in exchange for the service thus provided.
The Court is further of the opinion that it cannot have been the intention of the authors of the
1858Treaty to deprive the inhabitants of the Cost aRican bank of the river, where that bank
constitutes the boundary between the two States, of the right to use the river to the extent necessary
to meet their essential requirements, even for activities of a non-commercial nature, given the
geography of the area. While choosing, in Article II of the Treaty, to fix the boundary on the river
bank, the parties must be presumed, in view of the historical background to the conclusion of this
Treaty and of the Treaty’s object and purpose as defined by the Preamble and ArticleI, to have
intended to preserve for the Costa Ricans living on that bank a minimal right of navigation for the
purposes of continuing to live a normal life in the villages along the river. The Court considers that
while such a right cannot be derived from the express language of ArticleVI, it can be inferred
from the provisions of the Treaty as a whole and, in particular, the manner in which the boundary is
fixed.
(ii)“Officialvessels”
For the Court, it is clear that the 1858 Treaty does not establish, in its Article VI, any special
régime for “official” (or “public”) vessels. The onl y criterion provided for by Article VI is based
not on the public or private ownership of the vessel but on the purpose of navigation: either it is
undertaken for the “purposes of commerce” and bene fits from the freedom established; or it is
undertaken for purposes other than “commerce” and it does not.
The Court is of the opinion that, as a genera l rule, the navigation of Costa Rican vessels for
the purposes of public order activities and public ser vices with no object of financial gain, in
particular police vessels, lies outside the scope of Article VI of the 1858 Treaty, with the exception
of revenue service vessels, the question of which was settled by the 1888 arbitration. - 11 -
Moreover, the Court considers that, in any event, Costa Rica has not proved its assertion that
river transport is the only means to supply its po lice posts located along the river bank or to carry
out the relief of the personnel stationed in them.
Nonetheless, the Court is of the opinion that the reasons given above with regard to private
vessels which navigate the river in order to meet the essential requirements of the population living
on the river bank, where expeditious transportati on is a condition for meeting those requirements,
are also valid for certain Costa Rican official vessels which in specific situations are used solely for
the purpose of providing that population with what it needs in order to meet the necessities of daily
life.
III. N ICARAGUA ’S POWER OF REGULATION OF NAVIGATION
1. General observations
The Court observes that, in their written pleadings, the Parties disagreed about the extent or
even the very existence of the power of Nicaragua to regulate the use of the river so far as Costa
Rica was concerned. In the course of the oral proceedings that difference of positions largely
disappeared. However, the Parties continue to disagree on the extent of the regulatory power of
Nicaragua and on certain measures which Nicaragua has adopted and continues to apply. In
particular, they disagree whether Nicaragua is oblig ed to notify Costa Rica about the regulations it
has made or to consult Costa Rica in advance about proposed regulations.
(a) Characteristics
The Court is of the view that Nicaragua has the power to regulate the exercise by Costa Rica
of its right to freedom of navigation under the 1858 Treaty. According to the Court, that power is
not unlimited, being tempered by the rights and obligati ons of the Parties. A regulation in the
present case is to have the following characteristics:
(1) it must only subject the activity to certain rules without rendering impossible or substantially
impeding the exercise of the right of free navigation;
(2) it must be consistent with the terms of the Treaty, such as the prohibition on the unilateral
imposition of certain taxes in Article VI;
(3) it must have a legitimate purpose, such as sa fety of navigation, cr ime prevention and public
safety and border control;
(4) it must not be discriminatory and in matters such as timetabling must apply to Nicaraguan
vessels if it applies to Costa Rican ones;
(5) it must not be unreasonable, which means that its negative impact on the exercise of the right in
question must not be manifestly excessive when measured against the protection afforded to the
purpose invoked.
(b) Notification
The Court now turns to the question whether Nicaragua has a legal obligation to notify
CostaRica of the measures it adopts to regulate navigation on the river, or to give notice and
consult with Costa Rica prior to the adoption by Nicaragua of such measures. - 12 -
Although the 1858 Treaty imposes no express general obligation on either of the Parties to
notify the other about measures it is taking relating to navigation on the river, the Court sees three
factors as together imposing an obligation of notification of regulations in the circumstances of this
case.
The first is to be found in the 1956 Agreement under which the Parties agreed to collaborate
in order to facilitate traffic on the San Juan river and those transport services which may be
provided to the territory of one Party by enterpri ses which are nationals of the other. The second
lies in the very subject-matter of the regulations : navigation on a river in which two States have
rights, the one as sovereign, the other to freedom of navigation. Such a requirement arises from the
practical necessities of navigation on such a waterway. The third factor lies in the very nature of
regulation. If the regulation is to subject the ac tivity in question to rules, those undertaking that
activity must be informed of those rules.
The Court concludes that Nicaragua is unde r an obligation to notify CostaRica of the
regulations which it makes regarding the naviga tional regime on the San Juan river. That
obligation does not however extend to notice or cons ultation prior to the adoption by Nicaragua of
such regulations.
2. The legality of the specific Nicaraguan measures challenged by Costa Rica
(a) Requirement to stop and identification
So far as the lawfulness of the obligati on requiring CostaRican vessels to stop at any
Nicaraguan post along the river, and requiring their passengers to carry passports, the Court is of
the opinion that Nicaragua, as sovereign, has the right to know the identity of those entering its
territory and also to know that they have left. In its view the power to require the production of a
passport or identity document of some kind is a le gitimate part of the exercise of such a power.
The Court notes that Nicaragua also has related responsibilities in respect of law enforcement and
environmental protection. To that extent, the Nicaraguan requirement that vessels stop on entering
the river and leaving it and that they be subject to search is lawful. The Court cannot, however, see
any legal justification for a general requirement that vessels continuing along the SanJuan river,
for example, from the San Carlos river to the Colorado river, stop at any intermediate point.
Accordingly, the Court concludes that Costa Rica’s challenge to the requirement that vessels
stop and their crew members and passengers register and carry identity documents fails.
(b) Departureclearancecertificates
The Court considers that the purposes invoked by Nicaragua, i.e., navigational safety,
environmental protection and criminal law enforc ement, are legitimate ones. Further, the
requirement for departure clearance certificates does not appear to have imposed any significant
impediment on the exercise of Costa Rica’s freedom of navigation.
For the Court, the question may also be asked whether in terms of the earlier practice the
inspection and certification should be undertaken by the State of nationality of the boat operators,
on the analogy of maritime navigation. There is however no suggestion from CostaRica that it
would be in a position to take up this responsibility. Nor does it point to a single case where
navigation has been impeded by an arbitrary refusal of a certificate.
AccordiC noicais that Costa Rican vessels need not obtain departure clearance
certificates cannot be upheld. - 13 -
(c) Visas and tourist cards
The Court observes at the outset that a distinction must be drawn between requiring visas
and requiring tourist cards. The power of a State to issue or refuse visas is a practical expression of
the prerogative which each State has to control entry by non-nationals into its territory.
For the Court, the requirement that passengers on Costa Rican vessels exercising freedom of
navigation, other than riparians and certain Costa Rican merchants, have visas issued to them raises
the question of who is entitled to and who may bene fit from the right of freedom of navigation for
commercial purposes stated in Article VI of the 1858 Treaty. Under Article VI of the Treaty the
titleholder of the right of free navigation is Costa Rica. Owners and operators of Costa Rican
vessels benefit from that right when navigating on the San Juan river for commercial purposes.
Passengers on vessels exercising Costa Rica’s right of free navigation also benefit from that right,
even if such passengers are not Costa Rican nationals.
The Court recalls that the power of a State to issue or refuse a visa entails discretion.
However in the present case Nicaragua may not im pose a visa requirement on those persons who
may benefit from Costa Rica’s right of free navigati on. If that benefit is denied, the freedom of
navigation would be hindered. In these circumst ances, the Court is of the opinion that an
imposition of a visa requirement is a breach of the right under Article VI of the Treaty.
The Court observes that in fact the number of tourists travelling on the river in Costa Rican
vessels has increased in the period these requirements have been in force. Further, Costa Rica has
provided no evidence of arbitrary refusals of visas to tourists and Nicaragua points out that it does
not require nationals from countries which are the s ource of most of the tourists visiting the San
Juan to obtain visas. Furthermore, it makes exceptions for residents of Costa Rican riparian
communities and Costa Rican merchants who regular ly use the river. This, however, does not
affect the legal situation thus stated.
The Court concludes that Nicaragua may not require persons travelling on CostaRican
vessels which are exercising their freedom of navigati on on the river to obtain visas. It would of
course be another matter were they wishing to en ter the land territory of Nicaragua from the river
or to travel up the river beyond its shared part towards Lake Nicaragua.
Given that Nicaragua has the right to know the identity of those wishing to enter the river,
for reasons, among others, of law enforcement and environmental protection, the Court is of the
view that one measure which it may properly take to protect such interests is to refuse entry to a
particular person for good reasons relating to that purpose. If such an action was justified in terms
of the relevant purpose, no breach of the freedom would be involved.
With regard to the requirement by Nicaragua that tourist cards be obtained, this does not
appear to be intended to facilitate its control over entry into the San Juan river. In the course of the
proceedings Nicaragua did no more than give some factual information about the operation of the
tourist cards and the exemptions already menti oned. It referred to no legitimate purpose as
justification for imposing this requirement. The requirement that passengers wishing to travel on
Costa Rican vessels which are exercising Costa Rica’s freedom of navigation on the river must first
purchase tourist cards is inconsistent with that right to freedom of navigation. The Court
accordingly concludes that Nicaragua may not re quire persons travelling on Costa Rican vessels
which are exercising Costa Rica’s freedom of navigation on the river to purchase a tourist card.
(d) Charges
In the Court’s view, the 1858 Treaty confers a ri ght on the vessels of each Party to land on
the bank of the other and provides that the exercise of that particular right is not to be the subject of - 14 -
an impost or tax. Just as the exercise of the right of navigation on the river is to be free and not the
subject of any payment, so is stopping on the other bank.
As the Court understands the situation, Costa Rica does not challenge the right of Nicaragua
to inspect vessels on the river for safety, enviro nmental and law enforcement reasons. In the
Court’s opinion, that right would in any event be an aspect of Nicaraguan sovereignty over the
river. But those actions of policing by the sovereign do not include the provision of any service to
boat operators, and the payment must thus, in these circumstances, be seen as unlawful.
Accordingly, Costa Rica’s claim in respect of th e charge for the departure clearance certificate for
those Costa Rican vessels which exercise the right of free navigation on the river must be upheld.
(e) Timetabling
The Court recalls that the exercise of a power to regulate may legitimately include placing
limits on the activity in question. The limited ev idence before the Court does not demonstrate any
extensive use of the river for night time navigation. The Court thus infers that the interference with
Costa Rica’s freedom to navigate caused by the prohibition of night time navigation imposed by
Nicaragua is limited and does not amount to an unl awful impediment to that freedom, particularly
when the purposes of the regulation are considered.
(f) Flags
The Court considers that Nicaragua, which has sovereignty over the San Juan river, may, in
the exercise of its sovereign powers, require Co sta Rican vessels fitted with masts or turrets
navigating on the river to fly its flag. This re quirement cannot in any respect be considered an
impediment to the exercise of the freedom of navigation of Costa Rican vessels under the
1858 Treaty. The Court observes, moreover, that it has not been presented with any evidence that
Costa Rican vessels have been prevented from na vigation on the San Juan river as a result of
Nicaragua’s flag requirement. Accordingly, in th e view of the Court, Costa Rica’s claim that
Nicaragua has violated its obligation not to impose impediments on the exercise of the right of free
navigation by establishing conditions relating to flags cannot be upheld.
(g) Conclusion
It follows from the above that Nicaragua has exercised its powers of regulation regarding the
matters discussed under subsections (a), (b), (e) and (f) above in conformity with the 1858 Treaty;
but that it is not acting in conformity with the obligations under the 1858Treaty when it
implements measures requiring visas and tourist cards and the payment of charges in respect of
vessels, boat operators and their passengers exercising the freedom of navigation.
IV. S UBSISTENCE FISHING
With regard to Nicaragua’s argument that Cost a Rica’s claim relating to subsistence fishing
is inadmissible on the grounds that CostaRica faile d to include, even implicitly, the claim in its
Application, the Court notes that the alleged inte rferences by Nicaragua with the claimed right of
subsistence fishing post-date the filing of the Application. As to Nicaragua’s second argument that
the claim does not arise directly out of the subject-matter of the Application, the Court considers
that in the circumstances of this case, given the relationship between the riparians and the river and
the terms of the Application, there is a sufficien tly close connection between the claim relating to
subsistence fishing and the Application, in wh ich Costa Rica, in addition to the 1858 Treaty,
invoked “other applicable rules and principles of international law”. In addition, the Court
observes that, as appears from the arguments on th e merits which the Respondent has presented in - 15 -
the two rounds of written pleadings and in two r ounds of oral hearings, Nicaragua has not been
disadvantaged by Costa Rica’s failure to give notice in the Application. Similarly, in terms of its
responsibility for the due administration of justice, the Court does not consider itself to have been
disadvantaged in its understanding of the issues by the lack of explicit refe rence to the claim in
respect of fisheries in the Application. Accordi ngly, the Court finds that Nicaragua’s objection to
admissibility cannot be upheld.
In its consideration of the merits of Costa Ri ca’s claim regarding subsistence fishing rights,
the Court recalls that the Parties are agreed that all that is in dispute is fishing by CostaRican
riparians for subsistence purposes. There is no question of commercial or sport fishing. The Court
also notes that the Parties have not attempted to define subsistence fishing (except by those
exclusions) nor have they asked the Court to provi de a definition. Leaving aside for the moment
the issue of fishing in the river from boats, a point to which the Court will return, the Parties agree
that the practice of subsistence fishing is long established. They disagree however whether the
practice has become binding on Nicaragua thereby entitling the riparians as a matter of customary
right to engage in subsistence fishing from the ba nk. The Court observes that the practice, by its
very nature, especially given the remoteness of the area and the small, thinly spread population, is
not likely to be documented in any formal way in any official record.
For the Court, the failure of Nicaragua to deny the existence of a right arising from the
practice which had continued undisturbed and unquesti oned over a very long period, is particularly
significant. The Court accordingly concludes that Costa Rica has a customary right. That right
would be subject to any Nicaraguan regulatory measures relating to fishing adopted for proper
purposes, particularly for the protection of resources and the environment.
The Court does not however consider that the customary right extends to fishing from
vessels on the river. There is only limited and rece nt evidence of such a practice. Moreover that
evidence is principally of the rejection of such fi shing by the Nicaraguan authorities. Accordingly,
the Court concludes that fishing by the inhabitants of the Costa Rican bank of the San Juan river for
subsistence purposes from that bank is to be respected by Nicaragua as a customary right.
V. T HE CLAIMS MADE BY THE PARTIES IN THEIR FINAL SUBMISSIONS
1. The claims of Costa Rica
The Court declares that it will uphold, in the ope rative part of this Judgment, elements of the
claim by Costa Rica for it to adjudge that Nicaragua has violated a certain number of obligations
incumbent upon it with respect to Costa Rica to th e extent that they correspond to the preceding
reasoning and will dismiss the others. With rega rd to Costa Rica’s submission that the Court
should order Nicaragua to cease all the breaches of its obligations whic h have a continuing
character, the Court considers that the obligation for the State concerned to put an end to such
violations derives directly from the finding estab lishing their existence. As to Costa Rica’s
submission for the Court to adjudge that Nicara gua should make reparation to CostaRica for the
injury caused to it by the breaches identified, in the form of the restoration of the prior situation and
compensation in an amount to be determined at a later stage, the Court recalls that the cessation of
a violation of a continuing character and the conseque nt restoration of the legal situation constitute
a form of reparation for the injured State. It refuses to uphold the claim for compensation.
Concerning the submission by Costa Rica for the Court to require Nicaragua to give assurances and
guarantees that it will not repeat its unlawful conduct, the Court notes that, as a general rule, there
is no reason to suppose that a State whose act or conduct has been declared wrongful by the Court
will repeat that act or conduct in the future, since its good faith must be presumed. It thus refuses
to uphold this claim. - 16 -
2. The claims of Nicaragua
The Court will uphold, in the operative part of this Judgment, the submission by Nicaragua
for the Court to dismiss all of the claims of Co sta Rica to the extent that it corresponds to the
reasoning set out in the present Judgment in respec t of Costa Rica’s claims. As to Nicaragua’s
submission for the Court to make a formal declaration, the Court is, inter alia , of the opinion that
the reasoning of the present Judgment is sufficient to respond to Nicaragua’s wish that Costa Rica’s
obligations towards it should be stated by the Court.
*
* *
The full text of the last paragraph of the Judgment (paragraph 156) reads as follows:
“For these reasons,
T HE COURT ,
(1) As regards Costa Rica’s navigational ri ghts on the San Juan river under the 1858 Treaty,
in that part where navigation is common,
(a) Unanimously,
Finds that CostaRica has the right of free navigation on the SanJuan river for purposes of
commerce;
(b) Unanimously,
Finds that the right of navigation for purposes of commerce enjoyed by Costa Rica includes
the transport of passengers;
(c) Unanimously,
Finds that the right of navigation for purposes of commerce enjoyed by Costa Rica includes
the transport of tourists;
(d) By nine votes to five,
Finds that persons travelling on the SanJuan ri ver on board CostaRican vessels exercising
Costa Rica’s right of free navigation are not required to obtain Nicaraguan visas;
IN FAVOUR : PresidentOwada; JudgesShi, Buergenthal, Abraham, Keith, Bennouna, Cançado
Trindade, Yusuf, Greenwood;
AGAINST : Judges Koroma, Al-Khasawneh, Sepúl veda-Amor, Skotnikov; Judge ad hoc
Guillaume;
(e) Unanimously,
Finds that persons travelling on the SanJuan ri ver on board CostaRican vessels exercising
Costa Rica’s right of free navigation are not required to purchase Nicaraguan tourist
cards; - 17 -
(f) By thirteen votes to one,
Finds that the inhabitants of the CostaRican bank of the SanJuan river have the right to
navigate on the river between the riparian comm unities for the purposes of the essential needs of
everyday life which require expeditious transportation;
IN FAVOUR : President Owada; Judges Shi, Koroma, Al-Khasawneh, Buergenthal, Abraham,
Keith, Sepúlveda-Amor, Bennouna, Skotnikov, Cançado Trindade, Yusuf, Greenwood;
AGAINST : Judge ad hoc Guillaume;
(g) By twelve votes to two,
Finds that CostaRica has the right of navigation on the SanJuan river with official vessels
used solely, in specific situations, to provide essen tial services for the inhabitants of the riparian
areas where expeditious transportation is a condition for meeting the inhabitants’ requirements;
IN FAVOUR : President Owada; Judges Shi, Koroma, Al-Khasawneh, Buergenthal, Abraham,
Keith, Sepúlveda-Amor, Bennouna, Canç ado Trindade, Yusuf, Greenwood;
AGAINST : JudgeSkotnikov; Judgead hoc Guillaume;
(h) Unanimously,
Finds that Costa Rica does not have the right of navigation on the San Juan river with vessels
carrying out police functions;
(i) Unanimously,
Finds that CostaRica does not have the right of navigation on the SanJuan river for the
purposes of the exchange of personnel of the poli ce border posts along the right bank of the river
and of the re-supply of these posts, with offi cial equipment, including service arms and
ammunition;
(2) As regards Nicaragua’s right to regulate na vigation on the SanJuan river, in that part
where navigation is common,
(a) Unanimously,
Finds that Nicaragua has the right to require Costa Rican vessels and their passengers to stop
at the first and last Nicaraguan post on their route along the San Juan river;
(b) Unanimously,
Finds that Nicaragua has the right to require persons travelling on the San Juan river to carry
a passport or an identity document;
(c) Unanimously,
Finds that Nicaragua has the right to issue depa rture clearance certificates to CostaRican
vessels exercising Costa Rica’s right of free naviga tion but does not have the right to request the
payment of a charge for the issuance of such certificates;
(d) Unanimously, - 18 -
Finds that Nicaragua has the right to impose tim etables for navigation on vessels navigating
on the San Juan river;
(e) Unanimously,
Finds that Nicaragua has the right to require Cost a Rican vessels fitted with masts or turrets
to display the Nicaraguan flag;
(3) As regards subsistence fishing,
By thirteen votes to one,
Finds that fishing by the inhabitants of the CostaRican bank of the San Juan river for
subsistence purposes from that bank is to be respected by Nicaragua as a customary right;
IN FAVOUR : President Owada; Judges Shi, Koroma, Al-Khasawneh, Buergenthal, Abraham,
Keith, Bennouna, Skotnikov, Cançado Trindade, Yusuf, Greenwood; Judge ad hoc
Guillaume;
AGAINST : JudgeSepúlveda-Amor;
(4) As regards Nicaragua’s compliance with its intern ational obligations under the
1858 Treaty,
(a) By nine votes to five,
Finds that Nicaragua is not acting in accord ance with its obligations under the 1858Treaty
when it requires persons travelling on the SanJuan river on board CostaRican vessels exercising
Costa Rica’s right of free navigation to obtain Nicaraguan visas;
IN FAVOUR : PresidentOwada; JudgesShi, Buergenthal, Abraham, Keith, Bennouna, Cançado
Trindade, Yusuf, Greenwood;
AGAINST : Judges Koroma, Al-Khasawneh, Sepúl veda-Amor, Skotnikov; Judge ad hoc
Guillaume;
(b) Unanimously,
Finds that Nicaragua is not acting in accord ance with its obligations under the 1858Treaty
when it requires persons travelling on the SanJuan river on board CostaRican vessels exercising
Costa Rica’s right of free navigation to purchase Nicaraguan tourist cards;
(c)Unanimously,
Finds that Nicaragua is not acting in accord ance with its obligations under the 1858Treaty
when it requires the operators of vessels exercising CostaRica’s right of free navigation to pay
charges for departure clearance certificates;
U(na)nimously,
Rejects all other submissions presented by Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
JuSgepsúlveda-Amor and Skotnikov append separate opinions to the Judgment of the
Court; Judge ad hoc Guillaume appends a declaration to the Judgment of the Court. Annex to Summary 2009/4
Separate opinion of Judge Sepúlveda-Amor
In his separate opinion, JudgeSepúlveda-Amor d eclares that while he is in agreement with
most of the findings in the operative part of th e Judgment, he does not share the view that the
imposition of visa requirements by Nicaragua on pe rsons travelling on the San Juan river on board
Costa Rican vessels exercising Costa Rica’s right of free navigation would be contrary to
Nicaragua’s obligations under the 1858 Treaty. He further considers that the Court’s reasoning as
regards Costa Rica’s claim relating to subsistence fishing should have been based on a different
legal foundation.
As regards the question of the legality of visa requirements enacted by Nicaragua,
JudgeSepúlveda-Amor is of the opinion that the Court has failed to take account of Nicaragua’s
legitimate interest in border and immigration c ontrol and to clarify accordingly the extent of
Nicaragua’s regulatory powers to that effect.
Judge Sepúlveda-Amor notes that the finding is not consistent with the Court’s observations
made in previous paragraphs of the Judgment, namely that Nicaragua as the sovereign State has the
“primary responsibility for assessing the need for re gulation”, that Costa Rica has the burden of
proof in respect of claims regarding the unreasonableness of Nicaragua’s regulations, and that such
claims need to be based on “[c]oncrete and specific facts” (paragrap1 h01).
JudgeSepúlveda-Amor observes that, while the C ourt has followed this line of reasoning when
examining the requirements to stop and identify, to obtain departure clearance certificates and to
fly the Nicaraguan flag, it has adopted a different approach with respect to the visa requirement.
According to JudgeSepúlveda-Amor, Costa Rica has presented no evidence to support its
contention that the visa requirements imposed by Nicaragua do not serve a legitimate purpose, are
unreasonable or discriminatory and substantially impede the exercise of its right of free navigation,
in violation of the conditions established in paragraph87 of the Judgment. He notes that, on the
contrary, evidence provided by Nicaragua show s that tourism on the San Juan river has
considerably increased in the period since these requirements have been in force.
JSdepúlveda-Afmuroher believes that the prohibition to enact any visa requirements
may involve a risk for Nicaragua’s public safety a nd is contrary to the principle stated in the
Judgment that “[t]he power of a State to issu e or refuse visas is a practical expression of the
prerogative which each State has to control entry by non-nationals into its territory”
(paragraph113). Moreover, he indicates that Ni caragua would be in a position to challenge the
Court’s finding by invoking certain provisions of multilateral conventions, such as the American
Convention on Human Rights and the Internationa l Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as a
legal basis for the imposition of a visa requirement for persons travelling on the San Juan river.
With regard to the legal basis of Co sta Rica’s right to subsistence fishing,
JudgeSepúlveda-Amor observes that the Court’s re asoning contradicts its previous jurisprudence
on the recognition of rules of customary international law since, in his view, the clearly established
requirements of practice and opinio juris are not fulfilled in the present case. According to
Judge Sepúlveda-Amor, Nicaragua’s lack of protest to the undocum ented practice of subsistence
fishing on the San Juan river cannot be interpreted as a conviction on the part of Nicaragua that it is
conforming to a legal obligation to respect the said pr actice, especially in the light of the fact that
Costa Rica has never claimed the existence of a cu stomary right of subsistence fishing until the
submission of its Memorial. Judge Sepúlveda-Amor further notes that, in any event, the practice of
a local community of riparians cannot be equated with State practice.
Judge Sepúlveda-Amor considers that the Court could have recognized Costa Rica’s claim of
subsistence fishing on a more solid legal foundation, namely by having recourse to the principle of
acquired or vested rights, as applied in a number of previous decisions, or by recognizing the - 2 -
binding character of the legal commitment undertak en by Nicaragua during the oral proceedings
before the Court that it “has absolutely no inte ntion of preventing Costa Rican residents from
engaging in subsistence fishing” (CR2009/5, p. 27, para.48), in accordance with the Court’s
case-law on unilateral acts.
Separate opinion of Judge Skotnikov
Judge Skotnikov voted in favour of most of the operative paragraphs of the Judgment.
However, he does not share the Court’s reasoning on a number of key points and disagrees with
some of its conclusions.
He agrees that Costa Rica’s right of free navigation under the 1858 Treaty of Limits should
not automatically be interpreted restrictively on the grounds that it represents a limitation of the
sovereignty over the SanJuan river conferred by that Treaty on Nicaragua. However, as was
established by the Court’s jurisprudence, the restri ctive interpretation is in order in case of doubt.
In these circumstances, the Court should have examin ed the intentions of the Parties at the time of
the conclusion of the Treaty, taking full account of the well-established principle that limitations on
the sovereignty of a State are not to be presumed.
No evidence submitted by the Parties showed th at Nicaragua and Costa Rica intended at the
time the Treaty was concluded to give an evolving meaning to the word “commerce”.
Accordingly, the Court’s presumption should have been that Nicaragua was unlikely to have
intended to act against its own interest by granting Costa Rica navigational rights which were not in
line with the contemporaneous meaning of the term “comercio” and which would evolve and
expand over time along with the meaning of that term.
In Judge Skotnikov’s view, the subsequent pr actice in the application of the Treaty suggests
that the Parties have established an agreement re garding its interpretation. CostaRican-operated
tourism on the SanJuan river has been present for at least a decade, and to a substantial degree.
Nicaragua has not only engaged in a consistent practice of allowing tourist navigation by
Costa Rican operators, but has also subjected it to its regulations. This can be seen as recognition
by Nicaragua that Costa Rica acted as of right. Th e common view of the Parties to that effect can
be inferred from the Agreement of Understanding on the Tourist Activity, signed on 5 June1994.
Accordingly, CostaRica has a right under the 1858Treaty to transport tourists ⎯ that is,
passengers who pay a price for the service provided. This right of Costa Rica necessarily extends
to the transport of all other passengers who pay a price to the carriers.
Judge Skotnikov notes that, according to the Judgment, the Parties must be presumed to have
intended to preserve for riparians living on the Co staRican bank of the SanJuan river a minimal
right of navigation to meet their essential requirements; therefore such a right can be inferred from
the provisions of the Treaty as a whole. Furthermore, for the same reasons, it can be inferred from
the Treaty that CostaRica has the right of na vigation on the SanJuan with official vessels
(including police vessels) that provide the riparian population with what it needs in order to meet
the necessities of daily life.
Judge Skotnikov is not convinced that any na vigational rights have been established by the
1858 Treaty other than in its Article VI ⎯ the only article dealing with the issue of navigation.
Although he disagrees with the majority that the riparians on the CostaRican bank have a
right under the Treaty to navigate on the SanJuan river, he is of the view that the Treaty left
unaffected the practice of riparians to travel on the river to meet the requirements of their daily life.
This is to be continued and respected by Nicaragua. - 3 -
He sees no justification for the Court’s finding that Costa Rica has the right, albeit limited, to
navigate with official vessels to provide services fo r the riparian communities. It is clear that
Costa Rica has certain needs calling for use of the San Juan river for non-commercial purposes by
public vessels. However, these needs do not transl ate into rights. The Parties should reach an
arrangement on the subject on their own terms. It is not for the Court to do so on their behalf.
Judge Skotnikov emphasizes that the 1858Treat y cannot be interpreted as affording to
non-Nicaraguans exemption from Nicaragua’s visa régime, by virtue of Costa Rica’s right to freely
navigate the SanJuan river. Imposing a visa re quirement on tourists or passengers travelling on
Costa Rican vessels is within Nicaragua’s regulatory rights under the 1858 Treaty. It derives from
Nicaragua’s exclusive dominium and imperium over the waters of the San Juan river. As the Court
itself states, the power of a State to issue or refuse visas is a practical expression of the very broad
prerogative which each State has to control entry by non-nationals into its territory. This remains
true, according to the Court’s jurisprudence, even in cases where freedom of transit exists. The
visa requirement is consistent with Costa Rica’s right to free navigation for commercial purposes.
Should it be true that Costa Rica’s freedom of navi gation is hindered by the visa requirement, then
it would follow that Nicaragua is breaching its own freedom of navigation by maintaining this
requirement in respect of passengers on Nicaraguan boats. The Nicaraguan visa regulation applies
to non-Nicaraguans irrespective of the nationality of the carrier. This alone, in his view, should
have been reason enough for the Court to uphold Nicaragua’s position on the subject.
Judge Skotnikov notes that the legal nature of the regulation requiri ng CostaRica’s vessels
to fly the Nicaraguan flag remains unclear. Ther e is no reference in the Judgment to any evidence
of State practice supporting Nicaragua’s contenti ons. However, Judge Skotnikov believes that
Costa Rica could have accepted Nicaragua’s request as a matter of courtesy.
Finally, in his view, the 1858 Treaty, as in the case of the practice of riparians travelling on
the river to meet the requirements of their daily life, left unaffected the practice of subsistence
fishing by riparians from the Costa Rican bank of the San Juan river.
Declaration of Judge ad hoc Guillaume
In his declaration, Judge ad hoc Guillaume endorses many of the findings reached by the
Court.
He makes various further points concerning the a pplicable law in this case and the effect of
the passage of time on the interpretation of treaties.
He joins with the majority in considering that Article VI of the Treaty of 26 April 1858 gives
Costa Rica a right of free navigation on the San Juan river for purposes of commerce. However, he
takes the view that only boatmen are entitled to be nefit from that right, and that the commercial or
other activities of the persons transported have no bearing on the existence of the rights attributed
to Costa Rica. He infers from this that a ll navigation by vessels for non-profit-making purposes is
excluded from the cases provided for by Article VI.
Judge ad hoc Guillaume also differs from the Court when it accords the inhabitants of the
Costa Rican bank of the river the right to naviga te between riparian communities in certain cases,
and when it attributes a similar right to certain offi cial vessels of Costa Rica. He observes that the
Court has strictly circumscribed these rights, but considers that it has nonetheless thereby
disregarded the provisions of the 1858Treaty. In his view, it would have been preferable to
encourage the Parties to negotiate an agreement on this subject.
Lastly, Judge ad hoc Guillaume agrees with the Court’ s Judgment when it recognizes that
Nicaragua has the power to regulate Costa Rica’s exercise of its right of free navigation, and in - 4 -
particular to require that Costa Rican vessels a nd their passengers stop at Nicaraguan border posts.
However, he differs from the Court as regards the issuing of visas; unlike the Court, he takes the
view that Nicaragua remains free to make access to its territory conditional on visas being issued.
He notes that the Court has acknowledged that Nica ragua has the right to refuse access for reasons
connected with the maintenance of public order or protection of the environment. But he considers
it to have been necessary to go further by recogniz ing the lawfulness of a visa system which is
organized in practice so as not to prejudice free navigation on the river.
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Summary of the Judgment of 13 July 2009