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Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2019/45
30 October 2019
The President of the International Court of Justice stresses, in his address to the General Assembly, that “[e]ven with the most seemingly intractable disputes, a ruling of the Court can signal the starting-point for a new era in bilateral relations between disputing parties”
THE HAGUE, 30 October 2019. Today, H.E. Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President of the International Court of Justice, addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on the occasion of the presentation of the Court’s Annual Report 2018-2019, which covers the period from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019.
President Yusuf opened his speech by stating that, since 1 August 2018, “the Court’s docket has remained full, with 16 contentious cases currently pending before the Court despite the fact that a number of other cases have been disposed of during the past year”. He pointed out that “the cases before the Court involve States from all regions of the world and touch on a wide range of issues, including questions of consular protection, the formation of customary rules of international law in the area of decolonization, and maritime and territorial disputes”.
In a brief overview of the judicial activities of the Court, the President informed the General Assembly that, during the period in question, the Court had held public hearings in five contentious cases and one advisory proceeding, and had delivered three judgments, one advisory opinion and two orders indicating provisional measures, in addition to a number of procedural orders. He specified that, on 1 October 2018, the Court had rendered its Judgment on the merits in the case concerning Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile); on 13 February 2019, it had delivered its Judgment on the preliminary objections in the case concerning Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America); on 25 February 2019, it had given its Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965; and on 15 July 2019, it had delivered its Judgment on the merits in the Jadhav case (India v. Pakistan).
Speaking about new cases brought to the Court during the period under review, President Yusuf stated that, in addition to the case concerning the Relocation of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem (Palestine v. United States of America), which he had mentioned in his address to the General Assembly last year, on 7 June 2019, Guatemala and Belize had submitted to the Court, by means of a Special Agreement, a dispute concerning Guatemala’s territorial, insular and maritime claim. He pointed out that “[o]ne innovative aspect about this case is the democratic and participative approach adopted by Guatemala and Belize in deciding to bring their dispute for
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resolution to the Court”: in accordance with the Special Agreement, before seising the Court, both
countries first held national referendums to ascertain whether their respective populations
supported the idea of submitting the dispute to the Court for final settlement.
After giving an overview of the Court’s judicial activities, President Yusuf briefed the
representatives of the United Nations Member States on “important non-judicial matters”. In
particular, he referred to the recent promulgation of amendments to the Rules of Court as part of
“the ongoing initiative of the Court to ensure that its Rules and methods of work correspond to its
changing requirements”. He explained that these amendments concerned the procedure relating to
the election of the Registrar and Deputy-Registrar, provisional measures and preliminary objections
to the jurisdiction of the Court.
With regard to the budgetary needs of the Court, President Yusuf noted that “the Court’s
budget . . . compared to the institution’s considerable responsibilities under its mandate and its
growing case load, remains extremely modest, representing less than 1 per cent of the regular
budget of the United Nations”. Having expressed his understanding of the efforts made by the
Organization’s other organs in seeking to reduce budgetary expenses, he nevertheless stressed the
importance of “strik[ing] the right balance between budgetary austerity and the . . . statutory
mission” of the Court.
The President also referred to the Court’s Judicial Fellowship Programme, which allows
recent law graduates to pursue their training in a professional context at the Court for a nine-month
period each year. In this regard, he indicated that the Court had approved the idea of establishing a
Trust Fund for the programme to ensure greater diversity among participants and that the Court
would seek the approval of the General Assembly for that initiative in 2020.
Closing his address, President Yusuf emphasized that “States regard the Court as a guardian
of the rule of law at the international level” and “have, on many occasions . . . expressed their great
appreciation for the work of the Court”, adding that “[i]t is most encouraging to see that an
ever-increasing number of States are placing their trust in the Court to find a lasting judicial
settlement to their disputes, on occasion amidst geopolitical realities characterized by tension”.
In this regard, the President observed that “[e]ven with the most seemingly intractable
disputes, a ruling of the Court can signal the starting-point for a new era in bilateral relations
between disputing parties, and mark an end to long-standing differences”. “It is equally
encouraging to see the continued relevance of the Court’s advisory procedure, which enables the
Court to provide authoritative pronouncements on complex legal issues arising in the context of the
work of the main organs and institutions of the United Nations”, he concluded.
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The full text of the address by the President of the Court to the United Nations
General Assembly, as well as the Court’s Report for the judicial year 2018-2019, are available on
the Court’s website, under the heading “The Court” (click on “Presidency” or “Annual Reports”
respectively).
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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
Court is composed of 15 judges elected for a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the
Security Council of the United Nations. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague
(Netherlands). 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.
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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)
The President of the International Court of Justice stresses, in his address to the General Assembly, that “[e]ven with the most seemingly intractable disputes, a ruling of the Court can signal the starting-point for a new era in bilateral relations between disputing parties”