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 YouTube Channel: CIJ ICJ
Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2018/6
31 January 2018
Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile)
The Court to hold public hearings from Monday 19 to Wednesday 28 March 2018
THE HAGUE, 31 January 2018. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings in the case concerning the Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile) from Monday 19 to Wednesday 28 March 2018, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court.
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Schedule for the hearings
First round of oral argument
Monday 19 March
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Bolivia
Tuesday 20 March
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Bolivia
Thursday 22 March
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Chile
Friday 23 March
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Chile
Second round of oral argument
Monday 26 March
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Bolivia
Wednesday 28 March
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Chile
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History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in paragraphs 92-104 of the Court’s Annual Report for 2016-2017, which is available on the Court’s website (under the headings “The Court”/“Annual Reports”).
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Multimedia
The hearings will be streamed live and on demand (VOD) on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org/multimedia) as well as on UN web TV, the United Nations online television channel. Still photographs of the event will be posted on the first day of the hearings on the ICJ and UN Photo websites, as well as on the Court’s Twitter feed (@CIJ_ICJ). Selected high-resolution video footage (b-roll) of the event will be available for TV use on the Court’s website the same day. The hearings will also be covered by the United Nations television broadcasting service (UNifeed, New York).
All the photographs and videos made available to the media by the ICJ are free of charge and free of copyright for editorial, non-commercial use.
For information regarding the accreditation/admission procedures for these hearings as well as the video streaming options (low and high resolution) and practical information for the media, please see below.
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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 hearings to notify it accordingly before Thursday 15 March 2018 at midnight (The Hague time), by e-mail to [email protected].
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 Thursday 15 March 2018 (The Hague time). Requests submitted after this deadline will not be considered.
B. Further practical information for the media
1. Verbatim records of the hearings
Verbatim records of the pleadings will be published on the Court’s website. Upon the conclusion of the hearings, a press release will be issued presenting the submissions of the Parties.
2. Entry to the Peace Palace
The Press Room is open one hour prior to the start of hearings and closes one hour after they conclude. Accredited media representatives must bring with them their personal ID and press card,
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and are asked to arrive at the Peace Palace between one hour and 30 minutes before the start of the hearings. Only duly accredited individuals with valid identification will be permitted to enter the Peace Palace grounds.
3. 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 a matter of urgency. Satellite vehicle technicians/drivers will be informed in due course of the access times for the Peace Palace grounds.
4. Access to the courtroom
Photographers and camera crews will only be permitted to enter the room for a few minutes at the start of the morning and afternoon sittings. They will be accompanied by Registry staff members and must keep to the right-hand side of the room. Journalists will be able to follow the hearings from the Press Room.
5. Press Room
The hearings 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.
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
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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 Court (ICC, the only permanent international criminal court, which was established by treaty and 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), the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT, mandated to take over residual functions from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda), the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (an ad hoc judicial institution which has its seat in The Hague), 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)
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)
Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile) - The Court to hold public hearings from Monday 19 to Wednesday 28 March 2018