Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates) - Conclusion of the public hearings on the preliminary objections r

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
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Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2020/27
8 September 2020
Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates)
Conclusion of the public hearings on the preliminary objections
raised by the United Arab Emirates
The Court to begin its deliberation
THE HAGUE, 8 September 2020. The public hearings on the preliminary objections raised
by the United Arab Emirates in the case concerning Application of the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates) concluded
yesterday. The Court will now begin its deliberation.
It is recalled that on 11 June 2018, the State of Qatar instituted proceedings against the
United Arab Emirates with regard to alleged violations of the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 21 December 1965, to which both States are
parties. On 30 April 2019, the United Arab Emirates raised preliminary objections to the
jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the Application. Pursuant to the Rules of the
Court, the proceedings on the merits of the case were suspended.
The hearings on the preliminary objections raised by the United Arab Emirates were held at
the Peace Palace, the seat of the Court, from 31 August 2020 to 7 September 2020. During the
hearings, the delegation of the United Arab Emirates was led by H.E. Ms Hissa Abdullah Ahmed
Al-Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Agent;
and the delegation of Qatar was led by Mr. Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Legal Adviser to
H.E. the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, Dean of the
College of Law, Qatar University, as Agent.
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Requests of the Parties
At the end of the hearings, the Agents of the Parties presented the following requests to the Court:
For the United Arab Emirates:
“The United Arab Emirates respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare that the Court lacks jurisdiction to address the claims brought by the State of Qatar by its Application dated 11 June 2018.”
For Qatar:
“In accordance with Article 60 of the Rules of Court, for the reasons explained in our Written Statement of 30 August 2019 and during these hearings, Qatar respectfully asks the Court to:
(a) Reject the Preliminary Objections presented by the UAE;
(b) Hold that it has jurisdiction to hear the claims presented by Qatar as set out in its Application and Memorial; and
(c) Proceed to hear those claims on the merits;
(d) Or, in the alternative, reject the Second Preliminary Objection presented by the UAE and hold, in accordance with the provisions of Article 79ter, paragraph 4, of the Rules of Court, that the First Preliminary Objection submitted by the UAE does not possess an exclusively preliminary character.”
The Court’s decision on the preliminary objections will be delivered at a public sitting, the date of which will be announced in due course.
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History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in press releases Nos. 2018/26 of 11 June 2018, 2018/36 of 23 July 2018, 2019/12 of 25 March 2019, 2019/26 of 14 June 2019, 2020/23 of 30 July 2020 and 2020/25 of 25 August 2020, available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org).
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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. The complete verbatim records of the hearings held from 31 August 2020 to 7 September 2020 are published on the website of the Court (www.icj-cij.org).
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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, through judgments which have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned, legal disputes submitted to it by States; 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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