Certain Activities Carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua)/Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along The San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica) (I.C.J.)

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron A. Miles
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
San Juan ◽  
Pulp Mills ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Border Area ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessments ◽  
International Court ◽  
San Juan River ◽  
The Icj

December 16, 2015, saw the International Court of Justice (ICJ or the Court) render final judgment in the joined cases of Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) (Border Area) and Construction of a Road in Costa Rica Along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica) (Road). Together, these cases represented an opportunity for the Court to advance and clarify its thinking on the role of environmental impact assessments (EIA) in general international law, as first introduced in its decision in Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay) (Pulp Mills), with both Costa Rica (in Border Area) and Nicaragua (in Road) alleging that the other had failed to carry out an EIA with respect to certain, potentially environmentally harmful, activities. They also raised some interesting questions regarding remedies for the breach of provisional measures awarded under Article 41 of the ICJ Statute.

THE PRINCIPLES OF DUE DILIGENCE AND PREVENTION IN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rumiana Yotova
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Pulp Mills ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
San Juan River ◽  
The Icj ◽  
The Antarctic

ON 16 December 2015, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its judgment in the joined cases of Certain Activities Carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v Nicaragua) and Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v Costa Rica), ICJ Reports 2015. These are the latest in a line of cases raising key principles of international environmental law before the ICJ, following Pulp Mills (2010), Aerial Herbicide Spraying and Whaling in the Antarctic (2014).

Revocation and Modification of Provisional Measures Orders in the International Court of Justice: The Court’s Order Regarding Certain Activities Carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area and the Case Concerning Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River Joint Proceedings

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Sarmiento Lamus
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
San Juan ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Border Area ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
San Juan River

Abstract This article seeks to analyse the revocation and modification of provisional measures, as indicated by the International Court of Justice, in light of the Court’s recent order in the joint proceedings of Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area and the case concerning Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River. The request presented before the Court, by both parties, constitutes the first instance in which a request of this type has ever been submitted. Consequently, the order rendered by the Court, with regard to the procedural and substantive aspects concerning the indication of provisional measures, contains some points that are open to further analysis.

scholarly journals Geographic maps as evidence in practice of the international court of justice

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-111
Author(s):  
Marko Novakovic
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Border Area ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
San Juan River ◽  
The Will

The paper deals with the use of geographic maps as evidence in the practice of the International Court of Justice with a view to the latest cases in which the Court in its judgments elaborated maps as evidence: the case Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) and Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica). The analysis comprehends the evidentiary value of geographic maps throughout the International Court of Justice's jurisprudence and even in the case-law of its predecessors. The author emphasizes that the substantial element that affects whether a geographic map will be accepted as direct evidence before the International Court of Justice is the consent of the parties to the dispute, as well as the fact, that the map stands as an expression of the will of the state. The author concludes that the map properties-such as details, quality and consistency-have no impact on the acceptance of the map as direct evidence, but only on whether the geographic map is to be accepted as an indirect proof.

scholarly journals States’ Mouthpieces or Independent Practitioners? The Role of Counsel before the ICJ from the Perspective of the Legal Value of their Oral Pleadings

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-76
Author(s):  
Marco Longobardo
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
State Responsibility ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
State Practice ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Treaty Interpretation

Abstract This article explores the role of counsel before the International Court of Justice, taking into account their tasks under the Statute of the Court and the legal value of their pleadings in international law. Pleadings of counsel constitute State practice for the formation of customary international law and treaty interpretation, and they are attributable to the litigating State under the law on State responsibility. Accordingly, in principle, counsel present the views of the litigating State, which in practice approves in advance the pleadings. This consideration is relevant in discussing the role of counsel assisting States in politically sensitive cases, where there is no necessary correspondence between the views of the States and those of their counsel. Especially when less powerful States are parties to the relevant disputes, the availability of competent counsel in politically sensitive cases should not be discouraged since it advances the legitimacy of the international judicial function.

Innate Cosmopolitan Dialectics at the ICJ: Changing Perceptions of International Community, the Role of the Court, and the Legacy of Judge Álvarez

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-330
Author(s):  
GEOFFREY GORDON
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Community ◽  
Public Order ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Dialectical Process ◽  
The Right

AbstractTraditional conceptions of the international community have come under stress in a time of expanding international public order. Various initiatives purport to observe a reconceived international community from a variety of perspectives: transnational, administrative, pluralist, constitutional, etc. The perspectives on this changing dynamic evidenced by the International Court of Justice, however, have been largely neglected. But as the principal judicial institution tasked with representing the diversity of legal perspectives in the world, the Court represents an important forum by which to understand the changing appreciation of international community. While decisions of the Court have been restrained, an active discourse has been carried forward among individual judges. I look at part of that discourse, organized around one perspective, which I refer to as innate cosmopolitanism, introduced to the forum of the ICJ by the opinions of Judge Álvarez. The innate cosmopolitan perspective reflects an idea of the international community as an autonomous collectivity, enjoying a will, interests, or ends of its own, independent of constituent states. The application of that perspective under international law is put most to test in matters of international security, in particular where the interest in a discrete, global public order runs up against the right to self-defence vested in states. The innate cosmopolitan perspective has not, in these cases, achieved a controlling position – but, over time, it has been part of a dialectical process showing a change in the appreciation of international community before the Court, and a changing perception from the bench of the role of the Court in that community.

The International Court of Justice During the Battle for International Law (1955–1975)

2019 ◽  
pp. 235-256
Author(s):  
Ingo Venzke
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Independent States ◽  
South West Africa ◽  
Newly Independent States

This chapter investigates the role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) during the battle for international law circa the years of 1955–1975. It first draws attention to newly independent states that saw the Court in its role of reinforcing international law’s colonial imprints. The chapter then focuses on the Court’s captivating highpoint during the battle for international law: its 1962 and 1966 Judgments in South West Africa, and the jarring 1966 decision which, in the eyes of many states, presented the ICJ as a ‘white man’s court’ in a white man’s world. The chapter then shows the effects of the 1966 decision in judicial elections and the quest to change the composition of the bench. Finally, the chapter argues that the present inquiry serves as a vivid reminder that international law and its institutions are the product of a veritable struggle, then as now.

4 Legal Acts, 4.1 Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970) , Advisory Opinion, [1971] ICJ Rep 16

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyh Brianne McGonigle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Security Council ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Icj ◽  
South West Africa ◽  
Legal Consequences

The Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia touches upon the role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in exercising review over the factual and legal determinations of other principal UN organs, including the UN General Assembly (GA) and Security Council (SC). The relevance of the case, with regard to international organizations and legal acts, hinges on the findings related to the role of the ICJ as a judicial institution vis-à-vis its more political counterparts within the UN organization, the dissolution and succession of international organizations, and the power and limits of international organizations to ensure compliance with their rules and standards.

The South West Africa Cases: an Appraisal

1967 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Falk
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Major Question ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
South West ◽  
International Court ◽  
New States ◽  
The Icj ◽  
South West Africa ◽  
International Adjudication

Ethiopia and Liberia instituted litigation in 1960 before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to test the legality of South Africa's administration of the mandated territory of South West Africa. The ICJ received, thereby, an opportunity to deal with a major question of international concern. Hopes were raised that the role of international adjudication would be enhanced by the results of this litigation. The case was also expected to demonstrate to the new states that the procedures and institutions of traditional international law could be used to promote, as well as to retard, their distinctive goals in international life.

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