Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 (Honduras v. Nicaragua)

OVERVIEW OF THE CASE

On 7 October 1894, Honduras and Nicaragua signed a treaty on the delimitation of the frontier between the two countries, one of the Articles of which provided that, in certain circumstances, any points of the boundary line which were left unsettled should be submitted to the decision of the Government of Spain. In October 1904, the King of Spain was asked to determine that part of the frontier line on which the Mixed Boundary Commission appointed by the two countries had been unable to reach agreement. The King gave his arbitral award on 23 December 1906. Nicaragua contested the validity of the award and, in accordance with a resolution of the Organization of American States, the two countries agreed in July 1957 on the procedure to be followed for submitting the dispute on this matter to the Court. In the Application by which the case was brought before the Court on 1 July 1958, Honduras claimed that failure by Nicaragua to give effect to the arbitral award constituted a breach of an international obligation and asked the Court to declare that Nicaragua was under an obligation to give effect to the award. After considering the evidence produced, the Court found that Nicaragua had in fact freely accepted the designation of the King of Spain as arbitrator, had fully participated in the arbitral proceedings, and had thereafter accepted the award. Consequently the Court found in its Judgment delivered on 18 November 1960 that the award was binding and that Nicaragua was under an obligation to give effect to it.


This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.

Institution of proceedings


Written proceedings

5 January 1959
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3 August 1959
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4 January 1960
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Oral proceedings

Verbatim record 1960/10 (bilingual version)
Minutes of the Public Hearings held at the Peace Palace, The Hague, from 15 September to 11 October and 18 November 1960, the president, M. Klaestad, presiding
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Other documents


Orders

Fixing of time-limits: Memorial, Counter-Memorial, Reply and Rejoinder
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Extension of time-limit: Rejoinder
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Judgments


Summaries of Judgments and Orders

Summary of the Judgment of 18 November 1960
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Press releases

3 July 1958
The Government of Honduras files an Application instituting proceedings against the Government of Nicaragua
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5 September 1958
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 (Honduras v. Nicaragua) - The Court fixes the time-limits for the filing of the Pleadings
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7 October 1959
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Extension of the time-limit for the filing of the Rejoinder of Nicaragua
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21 March 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - The hearings will begin on 15 September 1960
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10 September 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Opening of the oral proceedings on 15 September 1960
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15 September 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Hearing of 15 September 1960
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17 September 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Hearings of 16 and 17 September 1960
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24 September 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Hearings of the week of 24 September 1960
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4 October 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Hearings of 27 September to 4 October 1960
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8 October 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Hearings of 6 to 8 October 1960
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12 October 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Hearings of 10 and 11 October 1960
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14 November 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - The Court will read its Judgment on 18 November 1960
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18 November 1960
Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 - Judgment
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Correspondence

1 July 1958
Correspondence
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