INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
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Website: www.icj-cij.org Twitter Account: @CIJ_ICJ
Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2016/28
30 September 2016
Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France)
Request for the indication of provisional measures
submitted by Equatorial Guinea
THE HAGUE, 30 September 2016. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (hereinafter
“Equatorial Guinea”) yesterday filed in the Registry of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the
principal judicial organ of the United Nations, a Request for the indication of provisional measures
in the case concerning Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France).
It is recalled that, on 13 June 2016, Equatorial Guinea instituted proceedings against the
French Republic (hereinafter “France”) with regard to a dispute concerning the immunity from
criminal jurisdiction of the Vice-President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea,
Mr. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, and the legal status of the building which “houses the
Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in France”, located on avenue Foch in Paris.
The case arises from criminal proceedings initiated against Mr. Teodoro Nguema
Obiang Mangue before French courts from 2007, pursuant to a number of complaints lodged by
associations and private individuals against certain African Heads of State and members of their
families, in respect of acts of “misappropriation of public funds in their country of origin, the
proceeds of which have allegedly been invested in France”. On 23 May 2016, the Financial
Prosecutor filed her final submissions “seeking separation of the complaints, and either their
dismissal or their referral to the Tribunal correctionnel”. The Prosecutor found that the individual
concerned “enjoys no immunity that might bar prosecution” and that the building located on
avenue Foch was not protected by immunity, since it did not form part of the diplomatic mission of
the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in France.
In its Request for provisional measures, Equatorial Guinea states that, by an order dated
5 September 2016, the investigating judges of the Paris Tribunal de grande instance referred
Mr. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue to the Paris Tribunal correctionnel, and that,
on 21 September 2016, the Financial Prosecutor issued a summons, ordering
Mr. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue to appear on 24 October 2016 before the 32nd Chambre
correctionnelle of the Tribunal correctionnel for a hearing on the merits. Equatorial Guinea
consequently notes the urgency of its request. It further claims that “[t]he imminence of criminal
proceedings” against Mr. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue “constitutes an impediment to the
exercise of his functions in the interest of his country”, adding that the “premises of the diplomatic
mission at 42 avenue Foch . . . are now open to confiscation by the courts, and the diplomatic
mission to expulsion as a result of the judicial sale of the building”, which, in its view, “is affecting
the ability of the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea to carry out its day-to-day activities”. - 2 -
Equatorial Guinea therefore contends that “[t]he pursuit of criminal proceedings in France
against the Vice-President and the property of Equatorial Guinea, and France’s refusal to respect
the building located at 42 avenue Foch in Paris as premises of Equatorial Guinea’s diplomatic
mission in France, create a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights of
Equatorial Guinea”.
Equatorial Guinea therefore asks the Court, “pending its judgment on the merits, to indicate
the following provisional measures:
(a) that France suspend all the criminal proceedings brought against the
Vice-President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and refrain from launching
new proceedings against him, which might aggravate or extend the dispute
submitted to the Court;
(b) that France ensure that the building located at 42 avenue Foch in Paris is treated as
premises of Equatorial Guinea’s diplomatic mission in France and, in particular,
assure its inviolability, and that those premises, together with their furnishings and
other property thereon, or previously thereon, are protected from any intrusion or
damage, any search, requisition, attachment or any other measure of constraint;
(c) that France refrain from taking any other measure that might cause prejudice to the
rights claimed by Equatorial Guinea and/or aggravate or extend the dispute
submitted to the Court, or compromise the implementation of any decision which
the Court might render”.
History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in Press Releases No. 2016/18 of 14 June 2016
and No. 2016/23 of 13 July 2016, available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org).
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The full text of the Request for the indication of provisional measures will be available
shortly on the Court’s website.
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Note: The Court’s press releases do not constitute official documents.
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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 - 3 -
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 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, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Mr. Avo Sevag Garabet, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0) 70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)
Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France) - Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Equatorial Guinea