Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia) - Extension of the time-limit for the filing of Bolivia's Counter-Memorial

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
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Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2018/23
5 June 2018
Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia) Extension of the time-limit for the filing of Bolivia’s Counter-Memorial
THE HAGUE, 5 June 2018. By an Order dated 23 May 2018, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, extended from 3 July 2018 to 3 September 2018 the time-limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorial of the Plurinational State of Bolivia in the case concerning the Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia).
This decision was made taking account of the views of the Parties.
In its Order, the Court states that, by a letter dated 14 May 2018, the Agent of Bolivia requested the Court, for the reasons given in that letter, to extend by two months the time-limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorial, and that, on receipt of that letter, the Registrar transmitted a copy thereof to the Republic of Chile.
It is further stated in the Order that, by a letter dated 16 May 2018, the Agent of Chile informed the Court that her Government had no objection to an extension of no more than two months of the time-limit initially granted to Bolivia to file its Counter-Memorial.
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History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings may be found in the Annual Report of the Court for 2016-2017 (paras. 202-209), available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org) under “The Court/Annual Reports”.
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The full text of the Order made on 23 May 2018 is also available 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 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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