International Court of Justice
Case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand): On October 6, 1959, an application instituting proceedings against the Kingdom of Thailand was filed in the Registry of the Court by the Kingdom of Cambodia. In its application the Kingdom of Cambodia alleged that since 1949 the Kingdom of Thailand had persisted in the occupation of a portion of Cambodian territory—the area surrounding the Temple of Preah Vihear, a sacred place of pilgrimage and worship for the Cambodian people—and that in 1954 it had sent detachments of its armed forces into the territory in question. The Kingdom of Cambodia alleged also that its tide to sovereignty over the land had been established by treaties, that it had effectively exercised territorial powers, and that the Kingdom of Thailand had not performed any acts of sovereignty which would displace them. The Court was thus requested to adjudge whether or not the Kingdom of Thailand was under an obligation to withdraw its troops, and whether or not territorial sovereignty over the Temple of Preah belonged to the Kingdom of Cambodia.