Provisional Measures Of Protection In International Law: 1907-2010

"CHAPTER I- PROVISIONAL MEASURES LEGISLATION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW



Prof. Dr. Mehmet Semih GEMALMAZ



- From Central American Court of Justice to Mix Arbitral Tribunals

- Provisional measures legislation of the Permanent Court of International Justice

- Provisional measures legislation of the International Court of Justice

- Provisional measures legislation under the Convention on the Law of the Sea and the law of the European Union





CHAPTER II- PROVISIONAL MEASURES PRACTICE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW



- Provisional measure practice of the Central American Court of Justice

- Provisional measure practice of the PCIJ

- Provisional measures prcatice of the ICJ





CHAPTER III- OTHER MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS CONCERNING PROVISIONAL MEASURES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW



- Advisory proceedings and provisional measures

- Intervention and provisional measures

- Role of UN organs and compliance with the Court's orders of provisional measures

- Correlation between decision on provisional measures and final decision on the case

- The subject- matter of provisional measure indicated

- Cases with human rights dimensions





CHAPTER IV- THE ICJ JURISPRUDENCE ON THE BINDING NATURE OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES ORDERS



- Pre- LaGrand: ""Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Paraguay v. USA)"" case

- The ""LaGrand"" case

- Post- LaGrand: reconfirmation of the binding nature of provisional measures





- SOME CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

- BIBLIOGRAPHY

- CASE INDEX

- SUBJECT INDEX







CHAPTER I - PROVISIONAL MEASURES LEGISLATION IN INTERNATONAL LAW

A-) From Central American Court of Justice to Mix Arbitral Tribunals 3

1. Convention for the Establishment of a Central American Court of Justice 3

i-) Provisional measure provisions in the 1907 CACJ Convention 3

ii-) The CACJ Regulations (1911) and Ordinance (1912) 5

iii-) Further developments in the region 7

2. The Bryan Treaties and Mixed Arbitral Tribunals 10

i-) The Bryan Treaties (1914) 10

ii-) Mixed Arbitral Tribunals 13

B-) Provisional measures legislation of the Permanent Court of International Justice 17

1. Statute of the PCIJ 17

i-) Drafting of Article 41 of the Statute 18

ii-) Influence of Article 41 of the Statute on the subsequent arbitration treaties 24

2. Rules of Court of the PCIJ 33

i-) Original “Rules of Court” (24/03/1922) 34

ii-) The 1931 Revision 40

iii-) The 1936 Revision 47

C-) Provisional measures legislation of the International Court of Justice 53

1. Article 41 of the ICJ Statute 54

2. Rules of Court and Practice Directions of the ICJ 55

i-) Rules of Court of the ICJ 55

ii-) Practice Directions of the ICJ 59

3. Arguments on the legal nature of provisional measure orders 62

i-) Arguments referring to the letter of the provision 63

a) Under the PCIJ system 63

b) Under the ICJ system 64



ii-) Arguments referring to the place of the provision in the Statute and intention of the drafters 69

a) The place of Article 41 in the ICJ Statute 69

b) Intention of the drafters 70

iii-) Further arguments submitted in favor of the binding nature of provisional measures 71

D-) Provisional measures legislation under the Convention on the Law of the Sea and the law of the European Union 81

1. The 1982 UNCLOS 81

i-) Article 290 of the UNCLOS 81

ii-) Article 25 of the Statute of the ITLOS 83

iii-) Relevant provisions in the “Rules of the Tribunal” 84

iv-) Assessment of the relevant legislation 87

v-) The 1995 “Fish Stocks Agreement” 94

2. Interim measures in the European Court of Justice 96

CHAPTER II - PROVISIONAL MEASURES PRACTICE

IN INTERNATONAL LAW

A-) Provisional measure practice of the Central American Court of Justice 103

1. “Honduras and Nicaragua v. El Salvador and Guatemala” case (1908) 103

i-) Two Orders of 13/07/1908 103

ii-) Assessment of the Orders 106

2. “Costa Rica v. Nicaragua” (1916) and “El Salvador v. Nicaragua” (1917) cases 108

i-) “Costa Rica v. Nicaragua” case 108

ii-) “El Salvador v. Nicaragua” case 110

B-) Provisional measure practice of the PCIJ 113

1. Cases in which provisional measure requests were rejected 113

i-) “Factory at Chorzow” case (Order of 21/11/1927) 113

ii-) The “Legal Status of the South-Eastern of Greenland” case (Order of 03/08/1932) 117

a) Order of 03/08/1932 117

b) Judgment of 05/04/1933 and termination of the case 122

iii-) “Administration of the Prince von Pless” case (Order of 11/05/1933) 123

iv-) “Polish Agrarian Reform and German Minority” case (Order of 29/07/1933) 125

2. Cases in which provisional measure requests were granted 129

i-) “China-Belgium Treaty” case 129

a) Order of 08/01/1927 129

b) Order of 15/02/1927 132

c) Assessment 134

ii-) “Electricity Company of Sofia and Bulgaria” case 137

a) Order of 05/12/1939 137

b) Assessment 140

C-) Provisional measures practice of the ICJ 142

1. List of provisional measures cases 142

i-) Table of cases in which provisional measures are granted 142

ii-) Table of cases in which provisional measures are rejected 146

2. Substantial criteria and issues 149

i-) Preservation of status quo pendente lite and of the rights claimed 149

ii-) Prima facie jurisdiction 155

a) Doctrinal arguments 158

b) The case-law of the ICJ 165

c) Additional submission for the basis of jurisdiction of the Court at the late stage of provisional measure proceedings 184

d) Failure of the establishment of the Court’s prima facie jurisdiction 185

iii-) Inherent power to indicate, as well as to revoke or modify provisional measures 194

iv-) Indication of provisional measures proprio motu and ordering measures other than those requested 202

a) Power to indicate provisional measures proprio motu 202

b) Measures other than those requested 206

v-) Urgency of the situation and risk of irreparable prejudice 223

a) Substantive urgency 223

b) Irreparable prejudice 226

c) Relationship between “irreparable prejudice” and “capability of reparation” 231

d) Lack of elements of “urgency” and irreparable prejudice” 237

vi-) Relationship between the subject-matter of the provisional measures sought and of the principal Application 258

vii-) An indirect submission of a request for the indication of provisional measures 262

viii-) Pronouncement for reserving the right to request the Court to indicate provisional measures 263

ix-) Request for the postponement of consideration and withdrawal of the request 265

3. Procedural criteria and issues 267

i-) Procedural urgency 267

a) The scope of the procedural urgency under Article 74/1-3 of the Rules of Court 267

b) Lapses of time between the request for the indication of provisional measure and the Court’s order 271

aa. The period between the request and the order in cases where such a request is granted or rejected 271

bb. Observations 272

cc. Observations concerning the practice of a Chamber of the Court 277

dd. Responsibility of States 284

c) Lapses of time between the request for the indication of provisional measure and holding of hearings 285

aa. The period between the request and the hearing in cases where such a request is granted or rejected 285

bb. Observations 286

d) Pronouncement for the expedition of the proceedings on the merits 294

ii-) Power of the President of the Court 296

a) The scope of the power under Article 74/4 of the Rules of Court 297

b) Cases in which Article 74/4 of the Rules of Court has been applied 301

c) Cases in which the application of Article 74/4 of the Rules of Court has been rejected 310

iii-) Evidence, assessment and burden of proof 321

a) Normative grounds and basic principles of the regime of evidence 321

b) Burden of proof in the judgments of the Court 326

c) Circumstantial evidence 330

d) Proof for existence of custom 336

e) Evidence in provisional measure cases 339

f) Failure to demonstrate sufficient evidence for the alleged prejudice 344

g) Flexible application of evidence rules in international human rights law 345

iv-) Request for information for the implementation of indicated provisional measures 350

a) The scope of the power under Article 78 of the Rules of Court 350

b) Practice regarding request for information 356

c) Possibility to indicate provisional measures merely requesting information 360

v-) Power to remove the case from the Court’s list 363

a) Rejection of request for removal of the case from the list in cases where provisional measures were granted 363

b) Rejection of request for removal of the case from the list in cases where provisional measures were dismissed 365

vi-) Non-cooperative attitudes in the proceedings 368

a) Non-appearance at the merits stage of proceedings and its consequences 369

b) Non-appearance at the provisional measure proceedings and its consequences 372

CHAPTER III – OTHER MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS CONCERNING PROVISIONAL MEASURES IN INTERNATONAL LAW

A-) Advisory proceedings and provisional measures 377

1. General observations on advisory proceedings 377

i-) Relevant legislation 377

ii-) Practice of advisory opinions 381

iii-) The effect of advisory opinions 393

2. Relationship between advisory opinions and provisional measures 397

B-) Intervention and provisional measures 402

1. Intervention under Article 62 of the Statute 403

i-) General observations 403

ii-) Cases where intervention was granted under Article 62 411

2. Intervention under Article 63 of the Statute 414

i-) General observations 414

ii-) Practice under Article 63 419

C-) Role of UN organs and compliance with the Court’s orders of provisional measures 427

1. Role of the Security Council 428

i-) Article 94 of the UN Charter and Article 41 of the ICJ Statute 428

ii-) Notification under Article 40/2 of the Court’s Statute 436

iii-) Notification under Article 77 of the Rules of Court 438

2. Examples of cases 446

i-) “Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. (United Kingdom v. Iran)” case 446

ii-) “Diplomatic and consular staff in Tehran (USA v. Iran)” case 450

iii-) “Military and paramilitary activities (Nicaragua v. USA)” case 454

iv-) “Aerial incident at Lockerbie (Libya v. UK; Libya v. USA)” cases 455

v-) “Application of Genocide Convention (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia)” case 459

vi-) “Land and maritime boundary (Cameroon v. Nigeria)” case 463

vii-) “Armed activities (Congo v. Uganda)” case 467

3. Role of the General Assembly 471

D-) Correlation between decision on provisional measures and final decision on the case 476

1. Table of cases in which provisional measures are granted 476

2. Table of cases in which provisional measures are rejected 494

E-) The subject-matter of provisional measures indicated 503

1. Prevention of aggravation or extension of the dispute 504

i-) Scope 504

ii-) Categories of various applications 508

a) First category: indication of measure to refrain from aggravating the dispute 508

b) Second category: no such measure at all 514

c) Third category: rejection of interim measure request but pronouncement of refraining from aggravation of the dispute 516

2. Different type of provisional measures 523

i-) Measures concerning substantial issues 523

a) Measures imposing a duty to refrain from carrying-out nuclear tests 523

b) Measures imposing a duty to release hostages 524

c) Measures imposing a duty to decrease armed tension 524

d) Measures requiring prevention and punishment of certain crimes 524

e) Measures requiring respect for human rights and humanitarian law 525

f) Measures requiring suspension of executions 525

g) Measures imposing facilitation duty 525

h) Measures concerning the right to property and free commercial activity 526

ii-) Measures concerning procedural issues 530

a) Preservation of evidence 530

b) Transmission of the Order to competent domestic authorities 532

F-) Cases with human rights dimensions 534

1. Introduction 534

2. Human rights elements in Advisory Opinions 538

3. Human rights elements in contentious cases 544

i-) General observations concerning provisional measures in human rights related cases 544

ii-) Specific examples of provisional measures application in armed conflict and frontier dispute cases 555

a) “Military and Paramilitary Activities (Nicaragua v. USA)” case 555

b) “Armed Activities (Congo v. Rwanda)” case 564

4. An example for provisional measures application in an early diplomatic protection case: The “Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran (USA v. Iran)” case 574

i-) Provisional measure Order of 15/12/1979 574

ii-) Judgment of 24/05/1980 575

CHAPTER IV - THE ICJ JURISPRUDENCE ON THE BINDING NATURE OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES ORDERS

A-) Pre-LaGrand: “Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Paraguay v. USA)” case 579

1. Provisional measure Order of 09/04/1998 579

2. Non-compliance with the Court’s order 582

i-) The approach of the US administration and judiciary with respect to the Court’s order 583

ii-) Discontinuance of the proceedings: a political cost? 592

B-) The “LaGrand” case 595

1. Provisional measure Order of 03/03/1999 595

2. Judgment of 27/06/2001 603

i-) Arguments of the Parties submitted at the written and oral stages of the proceedings 603

ii-) Main aspects of the Judgment 605

3. Assessment 611

i-) Did the “Soering” judgment of the European Court of Human Rights play a role in Germany’s conduct before the ICJ in the “LaGrand” case? 611

ii-) The significance of the “LaGrand” Judgment with respect to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the question of remedies 612

iii-) The Inter-American Court’s Advisory Opinion on the “Right to Information on Consular Assistance” of 01/10/1999 622

iv-) Binding character of provisional measures Orders of the ICJ 630

C-) Post-LaGrand: reconfirmation of the binding nature of provisional measures 637

1. “Land and Maritime Boundary (Cameroon and Nigeria)” case 637

i-) Provisional measure Order of 15/03/1996 and Judgment of 10/10/2002 637

ii-) Assessment 641

2. “Armed Activities (Congo and Uganda)” case 642

i-) Provisional measure Order of 01/07/2000 and Judgment of 19/12/2005 642

ii-) Assessment 646

3. “Application of Genocide Convention (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia)” case 651

i-) Provisional measure Orders of 08/04/1993 and of 13/09/1993 651

ii-) Judgments of 11/07/1996 (Preliminary Objections) and of 26/02/2007 (Merits) 658

iii-) Assessment 662

4. “Application of the CERD (Georgia v. Russian Federation)” case 667

i-) Provisional measure Order of 15/10/2008 667

ii-) Assessment : One case, two Courts (ICJ and ECtHR) and two provisional measure Orders 672

a) Assessment of the ICJ’s Provisional measure Order of 15/10/2008 672

b) Assessment of the ECtHR’s interim measure Order of 12/08/2008 680

5. “Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. USA)” case 688

i-) Provisional measure Order of 05/02/2003 688

ii-) Judgment of 31/03/2004 695

iii-) Developments in the period between the 2004 Avena Judgment and Mexico’s new Application in 2008 712

iv-) Provisional measure Order of 16/07/2008 and Judgment of 19/01/2009 717

a) Provisional measure Order of 16/07/2008 (Request for interpretation of the Judgment of 31/03/2004 and for the indication of provisional measures) 717

b) Judgment of 19/01/2009 721

SOME CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS 725







"