Culminated
OVERVIEW OF THE CASE
As a consequence of certain measures adopted by the Egyptian Government against the property and persons of various French nationals and protected persons in Egypt, France instituted proceedings in which it invoked the Montreux Convention of 1935, concerning the abrogation of the capitulations in Egypt. However, the case was not proceeded with, as the Egyptian Government desisted from the measures in question. As France decided not to press its suit and as Egypt had no objection, the case was removed from the Court’s List (Order of 29 March 1950).
This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.
Institution of proceedings
Orders
Press releases
14 October 1949
Protection of French Nationals and Protected Persons in Egypt (France v. Egypt) - Filing by France of an Application instituting proceedings against Egypt
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31 March 1950
Protection of French Nationals and Protected Persons in Egypt (France v. Egypt) - Removal of the case from the List of the Court
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Correspondence
OVERVIEW OF THE CASE
The Judgment delivered by the Court in this case ended a long controversy between the United Kingdom and Norway which had aroused considerable interest in other maritime States. In 1935 Norway enacted a decree by which it reserved certain fishing grounds situated off its northern coast for the exclusive use of its own fishermen. The question at issue was whether this decree, which laid down a method for drawing the baselines from which the width of the Norwegian territorial waters had to be calculated, was valid international law. This question was rendered particularly delicate by the intricacies of the Norwegian coastal zone, with its many fjords, bays, islands, islets and reefs. The United Kingdom contended, inter alia, that some of the baselines fixed by the decree did not accord with the general direction of the coast and were not drawn in a reasonable manner. In its Judgment of 18 December 1951, the Court found that, contrary to the submissions of the United Kingdom, neither the method nor the actual baselines stipulated by the 1935 Decree were contrary to international law.
This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.
Institution of proceedings
Written proceedings
27 January 1950
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31 July 1950
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31 July 1950
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28 November 1950
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Oral proceedings
Minutes of the Public Sittings held at the Peace Palace, The Hague, from September 25th to October 29th, and on December 18th, 1951, President Basdevant presiding
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Other documents
19 September 1951
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Orders
Fixing of time-limits: Memorial and Counter-Memorial, Reply and Rejoinder
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Extension of time-limits: Counter-Memorial, Reply and Rejoinder
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Judgments
(including the text of the declaration of judge Hackworth)
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Summaries of Judgments and Orders
Press releases
9 November 1949
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Order fixing the time-limits of the filing of the written pleadings
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10 January 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Order extending the time-limit for the filing, by Norway, of its Rejoinder
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22 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Representatives of the Parties at the public hearings opening on 25 September 1951
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25 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 25 September 1951
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26 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 26 September 1951
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27 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 27 September 1951
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28 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 28 September 1951
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29 September 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 29 September 1951
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1 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 1 October 1951
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5 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 5 October 1951
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6 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 6 October 1951 (Bilingual version)
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8 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 8 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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9 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 9 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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10 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 10 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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11 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 11 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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12 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 12 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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13 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 13 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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15 October 1951
Pêcheries (Royaume-Uni c. Norvège) - Audiences publiques du 15 octobre 1951 (French version only)
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17 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 17 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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18 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 18 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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19 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 19 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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20 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 20 October 1951
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24 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 24 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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25 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 25 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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26 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearings of 26 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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27 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 27 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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29 October 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Public hearing of 29 October 1951(Bilingual version)
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14 December 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - The Court will deliver its Judgment on 18 December 1951(Bilingual version)
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18 December 1951
Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) - Judgment of the Court of 18 December 1951
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Correspondence
OVERVIEW OF THE CASE
This dispute gave rise to three Judgments by the Court. It arose out of the explosions of mines by which some British warships suffered damage while passing through the Corfu Channel in 1946, in a part of the Albanian waters which had been previously swept. The ships were severely damaged and members of the crew were killed. The United Kingdom seised the Court of the dispute by an Application filed on 22 May 1947 and accused Albania of having laid or allowed a third State to lay the mines after mine-clearing operations had been carried out by the Allied naval authorities. The case had previously been brought before the United Nations and, in consequence of a recommendation by the Security Council, had been referred to the Court.
In a first Judgment, rendered on 25 March 1948, the Court dealt with the question of its jurisdiction and the admissibility of the Application, which Albania had raised. The Court found, inter alia, that a communication dated 2 July 1947, addressed to it by the Government of Albania, constituted a voluntary acceptance of its jurisdiction. It recalled on that occasion that the consent of the parties to the exercise of its jurisdiction was not subject to any particular conditions of form and stated that, at that juncture, it could not hold to be irregular a proceeding not precluded by any provision in those texts.
A second Judgment, rendered on 9 April 1949, related to the merits of the dispute. The Court found that Albania was responsible under international law for the explosions that had taken place in Albanian waters and for the damage and loss of life which had ensued. It did not accept the view that Albania had itself laid the mines or the purported connivance of Albania with a mine-laying operation carried out by the Yugoslav Navy at the request of Albania. On the other hand, it held that the mines could not have been laid without the knowledge of the Albanian Government. On that occasion, it indicated in particular that the exclusive control exercised by a State within its frontiers might make it impossible to furnish direct proof of facts incurring its international responsibility. The State which is the victim must, in that case, be allowed a more liberal recourse to inferences of fact and circumstantial evidence ; such indirect evidence must be regarded as of especial weight when based on a series of facts, linked together and leading logically to a single conclusion. Albania, for its part, had submitted a counter-claim against the United Kingdom. It accused the latter of having violated Albanian sovereignty by sending warships into Albanian territorial waters and of carrying out minesweeping operations in Albanian waters after the explosions. The Court did not accept the first of these complaints but found that the United Kingdom had exercised the right of innocent passage through international straits. On the other hand, it found that the minesweeping had violated Albanian sovereignty, because it had been carried out against the will of the Albanian Government. In particular, it did not accept the notion of “self-help” asserted by the United Kingdom to justify its intervention.
In a third Judgment, rendered on 15 December 1949, the Court assessed the amount of reparation owed to the United Kingdom and ordered Albania to pay £844,000.
This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.