INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)70 302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928
Website: www.icj-cij.org Twitter Account: @CIJ_ICJ
Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2016/37
2 December 2016
Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France)
Request for the indication of provisional measures
The Court to deliver its Order on Wednesday 7 December 2016
THE HAGUE, 2 December 2016. On Wednesday 7 December 2016, the International Court
of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Order on the
request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Equatorial Guinea in the case
concerning Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France).
A public sitting will take place at 3 p.m. at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which
Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, Vice-President of the Court and Acting President in this case, will
read the Court’s Order.
History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in Press Releases Nos. 2016/18 of 14 June 2016,
2016/23 of 14 July 2016, 2016/28 of 30 September 2016 and 2016/32 of 6 October 2016 available
on the Court’s website under the heading “Press Room”/”Press Releases”.
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A. Admission procedures
Owing to the limited number of seats available in the Great Hall of Justice, priority access
will be given to representatives of the States parties 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 to notify it accordingly before midnight on Monday 5 December 2016 (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 registration procedure, and admission requests
submitted beforehand will not be considered.
3. Media representatives
Media representatives are subject to a compulsory online accreditation procedure, which will
close at midnight on Monday 5 December 2016. Requests submitted after this deadline will not
be considered. For full details (timetable, technical facilities, etc.), see the section below entitled
“Further practical information for the media”.
B. Further practical information for the media
1. Entry to the Peace Palace
The Press Room will be open from 2 p.m. 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 2 p.m. 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 make the necessary arrangements. 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
2.40 p.m. and 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, Ethernet). 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.
5. Videos, still photographs
Video files (SD/MPEG2 and HD/MPEG4) and still photos produced by the Registry during
the sitting on 7 December 2016 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 requests 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”.
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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
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 - The Court to deliver its Order on Wednesday 7 December 2016