Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) - Question of compensation - Nicaragua transfers the total amount of compensation awarded to Costa Rica

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
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Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2018/15
23 March 2018
Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) Question of compensation Nicaragua transfers the total amount of compensation awarded to Costa Rica
THE HAGUE, 23 March 2018. By a letter dated 22 March 2018, Nicaragua informed the Registry of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, that, on 8 March 2018, it had transferred to Costa Rica the total amount of compensation awarded to the latter in the case concerning Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua).
It is recalled that, in its Judgment of 2 February 2018 on the question of compensation, the Court fixed the amount of compensation due from Nicaragua to Costa Rica at US$378,890.59 to be paid by 2 April 2018. This amount includes the principal sum of US$358,740.55 for environmental damage caused by Nicaragua’s unlawful activities on Costa Rican territory and for costs and expenses incurred by Costa Rica as a direct consequence of those activities, as well as pre-judgment interest on the compensable costs and expenses in the amount of US$20,150.04.
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History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in paragraphs 86-91 of the Court’s Annual Report for 2016-2017 and in press release No. 2018/8 of 2 February 2018, which are available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org).
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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 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)