INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.:+31 (0)70302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928
Website: www.icj-cij.org
Press Release
Unofficial
No.2013/11
24 April 2013
Bolivia institutes proceedings
against Chile with regard to a dispute concerning the obligation of Chile to
negotiate the “sovereign access of Bolivia to the Pacific Ocean”
THE HAGUE, 24 April 2013. Today, the
Plurinational State of Bolivia instituted proceedings against the Republic of Chile before the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, concerning a
dispute in relation to “Chile’s obligation
to negotiate in good faith and effectively with Bolivia in order to reach an
agreement granting Bolivia a fully sovere
ign access to the Pacific Ocean”.
The Application contains a summary of the facts —starting from the
independence of Bolivia in 1825 and continuing
until the present day —which, according to Bolivia, are “the main relevant facts
on which this claim is based”, and which must be provided in any Application
under Article 38, paragraph 2, of the
Rules of Court.
In its Application, Bolivia states that the subject of the dispute lies in
“(a) the existence of
that obligation, (b) the non -compliance of that obligation by Chile and (c)
Chile’s duty to
comply with the said obligation”
.
Bolivia asserts inter alia that
“beyond its general obligations under international law, Chile
has committed itself, more specifically through agreements, diplomatic
practice and a series of
declarations attributable to its highest - level representatives, to
negotiate a sovereign access to the sea
for Bolivia”. According to Bolivia, “Chile has not complied with this
obligation and…
denies the existence of its
obligation”
.
Bolivia accordingly “requests the Court to adjudge and declare that:
(a) Chile has
the obligation to negotiate with Bolivia in order to reach an agreement
granting Bolivia a fully sovereign
access to the Pacific Ocean;
(b) Chile has
breached the said obligation;
(c) Chile must
perform the said obligation in good faith, promptly, formally, within a
reasonable time and effectively, to
grant Bolivia a fully sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean”.
As the basis for the jurisdiction of
the Court, the Applicant invokes Article XXXI of the
American Treaty on Pacific Settlement (Pact of Bogotá) of 30 April 1948, to which both States are parties. This Article provides that: “In conformity with Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the High
Contracting Parties declare that they recognize, in relation to any other American State, the
jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory ipso facto , without the necessity
of any special agreement so long as the pre sent Treaty is in force, in all
disputes of a judicial nature that arise
among them concerning:
(a) the interpretation of a treaty;
(b)any question of international law;
(c) the existence of any fact
which, if established, would constitute the breach of an international obligation;
(d) the nature or extent of the reparation to be made
for the breach of an international obligation.”
At the end of its Application, Bolivia “reserves [its] right to request
that an arbitral tribunal
be established in accorda nce with
the obligation under Article XII of the Treaty of Peace and
Friendship concluded with Chile on 20 October 1904 and the Protocol of 16 April 1907, in the case of any claims arising out of the said Treaty ”
.
___________
The full text of the Appli
cation will be available shortly on the Court’s website
.
___________
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 b egan its activities in April 1946. The seat of the Court is
at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in
New York. 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. 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. Independent
of the United Nations Secretariat, it is assisted by a Registry, its own
international secretariat, whose
activities are both judicial and diplomatic, as well as administrative. The
official languages of the Court are
French and English. Also known as the “World Court”, it is the only court of a universal character with general
jurisdiction.
The ICJ, a court open only to States for contentious proceedings, and to
certain organs and institutions of the United Nations system for advisory proceedings, should
not be confused with the other mostly
criminal judicial institutions based in
The Hague and adjacent areas, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY, an ad hoc court
created by the Security Council), the
International Criminal Court (ICC, the first permanent international criminal court, established by treaty, which does not belong to the United Nations
system), the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon (STL, an independent judicial body composed of Lebanese and
international judges, which is not a United Nations tribunal and does not form part of the Lebanese judicial system),
or the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA, an independent institution which
assists in the establishment of arbitral
tribunals and facilitates their work, in accordance with the Hague Convention of 1899 ).
___________
Information Department:
Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department
(+31 (0)70 302 336)
Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337) Ms Joanne Moore, Associate Information Officer
(+31 (0)70 302 2394) Ms Genoveva
Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)
Entradas
