RESOLUTION 90 (I)
OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE UNITED NATIONS,
II DECEMBER 1946
PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE,
THE REGISTRY, ASSESSORS, AND AGENTS AND COUNSEL OF THE PARTIES
AND OF WITNESSES AND EXPERTS
By a resolution adopted on 13 February 1946, the General Assembly, with a view to ensuring that the International Court of Justice should enjoy the privileges, immunities and facilities necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fulfilment of its purposes, in the country of its seat and elsewhere, invited the Court at its first session to consider this question and to inform the Secretary-General of its recommendations.
The Court has accordingly examined the problem in its various aspects during its first session, held at The Hague from 3 April to 6 May 1946, and has transmitted to the General Assembly its conclusions.
The General Assembly considered the recommendations of the Court during the second part of its first session, and the report of the Sixth Committee.
The General Assembly,
1. Approves the agreements concluded between the International Court of Justice and the Netherlands Government, as recorded in the exchange of letters between the President of the Court and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
2. Recommends that if a judge, for the purpose of holding himself permanently at the disposal of the Court, resides in some country other than his own, he should be accorded diplomatic privileges and immunities during the period of his residence there.
3. Recommends that judges should be accorded every facility for leaving the country where they may happen to be, for entering the country where the Court is sitting, and again for leaving it. On journeys in connection with the exercise of their functions, they should, in all countries through which they may have to pass, enjoy all the privileges, immunities and facilities granted by these countries to diplomatic envoys.
This provision should also apply to the Registrar and to any officer of the Court acting as Registrar.
4. Recommends that:
(a) Officials of the Court should enjoy in any country where they may be on the business of the Court, or in any country through which they may pass on such business, such privileges, immunities and facilities for residence and travel as may be necessary for the independent exercise of their functions.
The Registrar, and any officer of the Court acting as Registrar, should, while on the business of the Court, be accorded diplomatic privileges and immunities.
(b) Inasmuch as these privileges and immunities are granted to officials of the Court in the interests of the International Court of Justice, and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves, the Registrar of the Court, with the President's approval, should have the right and the duty to waive the immunity in any case where, in his opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice, and can be waived without prejudice to the interests of the Court. In the case of the Registrar, the Court should have the right to waive immunity.
5. Recommends that:
(a)
(i) The agents, counsel and advocates before the Court should be accorded, during the period of their missions, including the time spent on journeys in connexion with their missions, the privileges and immunities provided for in Article IV, sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Convention on the privileges and immunities of the United Nations under the conditions of Article IV, section 15, of that Convention.
(ii) Assessors of the Court should be accorded, during the period of their missions, including the time spent on journeys in connexion with their missions, the privileges and immunities provided for in Article VI, section 22, of the Convention on the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.
(iii) Witnesses, experts and persons performing missions by order of the Court should be accorded, during the period of their missions, including the time spent on journeys in connexion with their missions, the privileges and immunities provided for in Article VI, section 22, of the Convention on the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.
(b) Inasmuch as the privileges and immunities referred to above under (a) are granted in the interests of the good administration of justice and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves, the appropriate authority should have the right and the duty to waive the immunity in any case where, in its opinion, the immunity would impede, and can be waived without prejudice to, the course of justice.
For this purpose, the competent authority in the case of agents, counsel and advocates representing a State will be the State concerned. In other cases (including those of assessors of the Court, persons performing missions by order of the Court and witnesses or experts), the competent authority will be the International Court of Justice or, when the Court is not sitting, the President of the Court.
6. Recommends that :
(a) The authorities of Members should recognize and accept United Nations laissez-passer, issued by the International Court of Justice to the members of the Court, the Registrar and the officials of the Court, as valid travel documents, taking into account the provisions of subparagraph (b).
(b) Applications for visas (where required) from the judges of the Court and the Registrar should be dealt with as speedily as possible. All other holders of laissez-passer should receive the same facilities when the applications for visas are accompanied by a certificate that they are travelling on the business of the Court. In addition, all holders of laissez passer should be granted facilities for speedy travel.
(c) Similar facilities to those specified in subparagraph (b) should be accorded to experts and other persons who, though not the holders of United Nations laissez-passer delivered by the International Court ofJustice, have a certificate that they are travelling on the business of the Court.