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
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Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2019/1
29 January 2019
Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda) The Court to hold public hearings on the question of reparations from Monday 18 to Friday 22 March 2019
THE HAGUE, 29 January 2019. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings on the question of reparations in the case concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda) from Monday 18 to Friday 22 March 2019, 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 18 March 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Democratic Republic of the Congo
3 p.m.-4.30 p.m.: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wednesday 20 March 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Uganda
3 p.m.-4.30 p.m.: Uganda
Second round of oral argument
Thursday 21 March 3 p.m.-6 p.m.: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Friday 22 March 3 p.m.-6 p.m.: Uganda
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History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in paragraphs 72-82 of the Court’s Annual Report for 2017-2018, 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 (https://www.icj-cij.org/en/multimedia-index) 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 website, 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 on the same day.
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 Friday 1 March 2019 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 Friday 1 March 2019 (The Hague time). Requests submitted after this deadline will not be considered. The Information Department reserves the right to close the procedure prior to this date if the number of accredited members of the media reaches the maximum capacity of the press room.
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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, 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 first round of oral argument of each Party. 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 are prepared by its Registry for information purposes only and 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 International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT, 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)
Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda) - The Court to hold public hearings on the question of reparations from Monday 18 to Friday 22 March 2019