CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS: THE 2016 JUDICIAL ACTIVITY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

摘要

The International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court) did not give judgment on the merits in any cases in 2016, but it decided on preliminary objections in five cases, and on one application for provisional measures. The three highest profile cases were those brought by the Marshall Islands against India, Pakistan, and the UK for violation of their nuclear disarmament obligations; the Court held that it had no jurisdiction to decide the cases on the merits. The other two cases were brought by Nicaragua against Colombia; both arose out of an earlier 2012 judgment in a maritime boundary case between those states. One concerned a request for the delimitation of the outer continental shelf beyond two hundred nautical miles; it raised questions about the application of the res judicata doctrine and about the significance of Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The other concerned alleged violations of Nicaragua's rights in the maritime zones delimited in the 2012 judgment. In both cases, the Court found that it had jurisdiction.