COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE RECUEIL IDES ARRETS AVIS CONSULTATIFS E T ORDONNANCES AFFAIRE DU DETROIT DE CORFOU EXCEPTION PRÉLIMINAIRE ARRÊT DU 25 MARS 1948 INTERNATIONAL COURT O F JUSTICE REPORTS OF JUDGMENTS ADVISORY OPINIONS 4ND O R E R S THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE PRELIMINARY OBJECTION JUDGMENT OF MARCH 25th 1948 Le présent arrêt doit être cité comnie suit « A#finire dzr détroit de Corfou Arrtit szdr l'excfpfion firéliminaire C 1 J Recueil 1948 p 15 » This Judgment should be cited as follows Corfu Cltanftel case Judgment o n Preli ilzinary Objection I C J Reports 1948 p 15 NO de vente Sales number INTERNATIONAL COURT O F JUSTICE 1948 March 25th General List No 2 YEAR 1948 Mareh 25th 1948 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE PRELIMINARY OBJECTION Proceedings instituted by application alleging a case of compulsory jurisdiction specially prol z'ded for i n Charter of United Nations Article 36 paragraph 1 of Statute Articles 25 32 36 paragraph 3 of Charter -Preliminary Objection to admissibility founded on a n alleged procedural irregularity as well as on alleged want of juvisdiction Articles 40 paragraph 1 and 36 paragraph 1 of Statute Article 32 paragraph 2 of Rules -Jurisdiction founded on voluntary acceptance by respondent -Waiver of objection to admissibi1ity Form of acceptance of jurisdiction --4ccepta zce by Parties by means of separate and successive steps - Recovnmendation of Security Council to submit a dispute to the Court Article 36 $aragraph 3 of Charter of United Nations -Reservations upon acceptance of jurisdictzo JUDGMENT Present President GUERRERO Vice-President BASDEVANT Judges ALVAREZ FABELA HACKWORTH WINIARSKI ZORIEIC DE VISSCHER Sir Arnold MCNAIR KLAESTAD BADAWIPASHA KRYLOV READ HSU MO AZEVEPO M DAXNER Judge ad hoc 4 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE In the Corfu Channel case between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northem Ireland represented by Mr W E Beckett C M G K C Legal Adviser to the Foreign Office as Agent assisted by The Right Honourable Sir Hartley Shawcross K C M P Attorney-General Dr H Lauterpacht Professor of international law in the University of Cambridge Mr C H M Waldock Professor of i ternationallaw in the University of Oxford Mr R O Wilberforce Mr J Mervyn Jones Mr M E Reed of the Attorney-General's Office members of the English Bar as Counsel the Government of the People's Republic of Albania representecl by M Kahreman Ylli Minister Plenipotentiary of Albania in Paris as Agent assisted by Professor Vladimir VochoE Professor of international law in Charles University at Prague and Professor Ivo Lapenna Professor of international law in the University at Zagreb as Counsel composed as above delivers the following judgment By an Application transmitted to and filed in the Registry of the Court on May zznd 1947 under Article 40 paragraph 1 of the Statute and Article 32 paragraph 2 of the Rules of Court the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland instituted proceedings before the Court against the Government of the People's Republic of Albania These proceedings concerned the incident which occurred i3 the Corfu Channel on October zznd 1946 when two British destroyers struck mines the explosion of which caiised damage to these vessels and heavy loss of life 5 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE I7 1t is stated in the Application that the subject of the dispute and the succinct statement of the facts and grounds on which the claim of the United Kingdom is based are to be found in a note dated December gth 1946 transmitted by theGovernment of theUnited Kingdom to the Albanian Government a copy of which is attached to the Application I t is alleged in the Application that the Court has jurisdiction under Article 36 1 of its Statute as being a matter which is one specially provided for in the Charter of the United Nations on the grounds a that the Security Council of the United Nations a t the conclusion of proceedings in which it dealt with the dispute under Article 36 of the Charter by a Resolution decided to recommend both the Government of the United Kingdom and the Albanian Government to refer the present dispute to the International Court of Justice b that the Albanian Government accepted the invitation of the Security Council under Article 32 of the Charter to participate in the discussion of the dispute and accepted the condition laid down by the Security Council when conveying the invitation that Albania accepts in the present case al1 the obligations which a Member of the United Nations would have to assume in a similar case c that Article 25 of the Charter provides that the Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter Finally it is stated in the Application that the purpose of the claim of the Government of the United Kingdom is to secure a decision of the Court that the Albanian Governrnent is internationally responsible for the loss and injuryresulting from the fact that two destroyers of the Royal Navy struck mines in Albanian territorial waters in the Corfu Channel and to have the reparation or compensation due therefor from the Albanian Government determined by the Court By a telegram of January 24th 1947 the Albanian Government accepted the decision of the Security Council inviting it in accordance with Article 32 of the Charter to participate without a vote in the proceedings with regard to the dispute on condition that Albania should accept in the present case al1 the obligations which a Member of the United Nations would have to assume in a similar case The Resolution of the Security Council of April gth 1947 to which the Application refers is as follows The Security Council having considered statements of representatives of the United Kingdom and Albania concerning a dispute between the United Kingdom and Albania arising out of an incident on zznd October 1946 in the Strait of Corfu in which two British ships were damaged by mines with resulting loss of life and injury to their crews recommends that the United Kingdom and Albanian Governments should immediately refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court T H E CORFU CHANNEL CASE 18 Notice of the Application of the Government of the United Kingdom was given on May zznd 1947 by the Registrar of the Court t o the Albanian Govemment by telegram m d b y letter On the same day the Application was transmitted by the Registrar to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for communication in accordance with Article 40 paragraph 3 of the Statute On Juxe q r d 1947 the Registrar received from the Albânian Government following upon a reminder addressed to the latter a telegram acknowledging receipt of the letter and telegram of May zznd and announcing the despatch of a reply to these communications On July q r d 1947 the Deputy-Registrar received from the hands of M Kahreman Ylli Albanian Minister in Paris a letter from the Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania dated a t Tirana July znd 1947 which confirmed the receipt of the Application and after referring to the contents of that docume it requested the Registrar to be good enough to bring the following statement to the knowledge of the Court The Government of the People's Republic of Albania finds itself obliged to observe I That the Government of the United Kingdom in instituting proceedings before the Court has not complied with the recommendation adopted by the Security Council on 9th April 1947 whereby that body recommended 'that the United Kingdom and Albanian Governments should immediately refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court' The Albanian Government considers that according both to the Court's Statute and to general international law in the absence of an acceptance by Albania of Article 36 of the Court's Statute or of any other instrument of international law whereby the Albanian Government might have accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court the Government of the United Kingdom was not entitled to refer this dispute to the Court by unilateral application I t would appear that the Government of the United Kingdom 2 endeavours to justify this proceeding by invoking Article 25 of the Charter of the United Nations There can however be no doubt that Article 25 of the Charter relates solely to decisions of the Security Council taken on the basis of the provisions of Chapter VI1 of the Charter and does not apply to recommendations made by the Council with reference to the pacific settlement of disputes silice such recommendations are not binding and consequently cannot afford an indirect basis for the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court a jurisdiction which can only ensue from explicit declarations made by States Parties to the Statute of the Court in accordance with Article 36 3 of the Statute 3 The Albanian Government considers that according to the terms of the Seciirity Council's recommendation of 9th April 1947 the Government of the United Kingdom before bringing the case 7 T H E CORFU CHANNEL CASE I9 before the International Court of Justice should have reached an understanding with the Albanian Government regarding the conditions under which the two Parties proceeding in conformity with the Council's recommendation should submit their dispute to the Court The Albanian Government is therefore justified in its conclusion that the Government of the United Kingdom has not proceeded in conformity with the Council's recommendation with the Statute of the Court or with the recognized principles of international law In these circumstances the Albanian Government would be within its rights in holding that the Government of the United Kingdom was not entitled to bring the case before the Court by unilateral application without first concluding a special agreement with the Albanian Government 4 The Albanian Government for its part fully accepts the recommendation of the Security Council Profoundly convinced of the justice of its case resolved to neglect no opportunity of giving evidence of its devotion to the principles of friendly col labo ratio between nations and of the pacific settlement of disputes it is prepared notwithstanding this irregularity in the action taken by the Government of the United Kingdom to appear before the Court Nevertheless the Albanian Government makes the most explicit reservations respecting the manner in which the Government of the United Kingdom has brought the case before the Court in application of the Council's recommendations 2nd more especially respecting the interpretation which that Government has sought to place on Article 25 of the Charter with reference to the binding character of the Security Council's recommendations The Albanian Government wishes to emphasize that its acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction for this case cannot constitute a precedent for the future Accordingly the Government of the People's Republic of Albania has the honour to inform you that it appoints as its Agent in accordance with Article 35 paragraph 3 of the Rules of Court M Kahreman Ylli Minister Plenipotentiary of Albania in Paris whose address for service at the seat of the Court is the Legation of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia at The Hague A copy of this letter which had been handed t o the Registry b y the Agent for the Albanian Government was transmitted on July 24th t o the Agent for t h e Government of the United Kingdom On July 31st 1947 the President of the Court a s the Court was not sitting made a n Order in which after ascertaining the views of the Parties with regard to questions of procedure i t was stated Whereas on July 23rd 1947 a note signed by the DeputyMinister for Foreign Affairs was filed with the Registry on behalf of the Government of the People's Republic of Albania in response to the Application of the Government of the United Kingdom Whereas in this note the Aluanian Government declares inter alia that the Government of the United Kingdom in bringing the case before the Court by unilateral application has not 8 T H E CORFU CHANNEL CASE 20 proceeded in conformity with the recornmendation of the Security Council of April gth 1947 or with the Statute of the Court or the recognized principles of international law and that accordingly the Albanian Government would be within its rights in holding that the Government of the United Kingdom was not entitled to bring the case before the Court without first concluding a special agreement with the Albanian Government but lvhereas the Albanian Government fully accepting for its part the recommendation of the Security Council is prepared notwithstanding this irregularity and in evidence of its devotion to the principles of friendly collaboration between nations and of the pacific settlement of disputes to appear before the Court Whereas the note above mentioned gives notice of the appointment as Agent for the Albanian Government of M Kahreman Ylli Minister Plenipotentiary of Albania in Paris and of his address for service at The Hague Whereas having regard to the Resolution of the Security Council of Apnl gth 1947 the said note of the Albanian Government may be regarded as constituting the document mentioned in Article 36 of the Rules of Court I n the Order the time-limits were fixed as follows the 1st October 1947 for the presentation of the Memorial of the United Kingdom and the 10th December 1947 for the presentation of the Counter-Memorial of Albania The Memorial of the United Kingdom presented within the tuile-limit fixed by the Order contains statements and submissions with regard to the incidents which occurred on October 22nd 1946 in the Corfu Channel These statements and submissions develop the points indicated in the Application as constituting the claim of the United Kingdom Within the time-limit fixed for the presentation of the CounterMemorial the Agent for the Albanian Government by a document dated December 1st and filed in the Registry on December gth submitted a Preliminary Objection to the Application on the ground of inadmissibility based upon the following statements 1 The facts 1 The Security Council in a Resolution adopted on April 9th last recommended that the United Kingdom and Albanian Governments should imrnediately refer the dispute between them arising out of an incident on October zznd 1946 in the Strait of Corfu to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court 2 contrary to this recommendation the United Kingdom Government alone and without any agreement with the Albanian Government approached the Court on May 13th last By proceeding thus unilaterally the Government of the United Kingdom brought an Application before the Court 3 on July 2nd last the Albanian Government made to the Coirrt most explicit reservations respecting the manner in which 9 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 21 the Government of the United Kingdom had brought the case before the Court but subject to these reservations stated that it was prepared t o appear before the Court 4 on the other hand the Albanian Government in its letter of July 2nd last addressed to the Court fully accepted the Security Council's recommendation of April 9th last as far as it was concerned and observed that to bring their case before the Court the two Governments should have reached an understanding in conformity with the Security Council's recommendation and in accordance with the provisions of the Court's Statute II The Law 1 According to Article 36 paragraph 1 of the Court's Statute its jurisdiction 'comprises al1 cases which the parties refer to it and al1 matters specially provided for in the Charter of the United Nations or in treaties and conventions in force' According to Article 40 paragraph 1 of the Statute 'cases are brought before the Court as the case may be either by the notification of the special agreement or by a written application ' 2 The Albanian Government not being bound by any treaty or convention in force to submit its dispute with the United Kingdom Government to the Court it follows that in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court only both parties to this dispute can validly do so If this is so the case must be brrdght before the Court by the notification of the special agreement and not by an application 3 In its Application of May 13th last the United Kingdom Government invokes no treaty or convention nor does it claim that the parties are submitting their dispute to the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Statute The United Kingdom Government maintains that this is a 'matter which is one specially provided for in the Charter of the United Nations on the grounds a that the Security Council of the United Nations at the conclusion of proceedings in which it dealt with the dispute under Article 36 of the Charter by a Resolution of which a copy forms Annex 2 to this Application decided to recommend both the Government of the United Kingdom and the Albanian Government to refer the present dispute to the International Court of Justice b that the Albanian Government accepted the invitation of the Security Council under Article 32 of the Charter to participate in the discussion of the dispute and accepted the condition laid down by the Security Council when conveying the invitation that Albania accepts in the present case al1 the obligations which a Member of the United Nations would have to assume in a similar case A copy of the invitation of the Security Council and of the Albanian Government's reply thereto form Annex 3 to the present Application c that Article 25 of the Charter provides that the Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter ' See letter from the Agent of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dated May 13th 1947 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 22 As regards these reasons given by the United Kingdom Government the Albanian Government has the honour to make the following observations A d a The Security Council in its Resolution of April 9th last only recommended 'the United Kingdom and Albanian Governments' to refer their dispute to the International Court of Justice in accordanie with the provisions of the Statute of the Court Such a recornmendation certainly cannot ipso facto constitute a matter specially provided for in the Charter of the United Nations to which the Court's jurisdiction extends Nothing in the Charter of the United Nations provides for such a case ad b In complying with the invitation given by the SecretaryGeneral ad interim of the United Nations on January 20th last the Albanian Government only accepted 'in the present case all the obligations which a Member of the United Nations would have to assume in a similar case' within the meaning of Article 32 of the Charter As it was a recommendation the obligations cannot ipso facto constitute a matter specially provided for in the Charter of the United Nations with a view to the Court's compulsory jurisdiction As a result of rights and obligations assumed by them in the Charter Members of the United Nations are never bound to appear before the Court without any other procedure namely without having duly and expressly accepted the Court's jurisdiction in conformity with the provisions of its Statute ad c The Security Council's Resolution of April 9th 1 s t contains a recommendation which in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations has no binding force for the Governments of Albania and the United Kingdom without their consent and acceptance Moreover according to the very tenns of the Resolution the two Governments must proceed in conformity with the provisions of the Statute of the Court in order that they may submit their dispute to it The said Resolution of the Security Council cannot in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and with the provisions of the Statute of the Court be considered to be a decision of the Security Council such as would on the one hand oblige both parties ipso facto and without any other step to appear before the International Court of Justice and such as would on the other hand authorize them to approach the International Court of Justice without regard to the provisions of the Statute of the Court To sum up the foregoing observations the Albanian Government asserts that neither the said Resolution of April 9th last nor the said declaration of the Albanian Government of 20th January last nor yet Article 25 of the Charter can whether taken separately or conjointly be relied on as imposing the Court's compulsory jurisdiction on the Albanian Government in the present caîe III Conclusions II THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 23 May it please the Court to proceed in conformity with Article 62 of the Rules of Court to place on record that in accepting the Security Council's recommendation the Albanian Government is only obliged to submit the above-mentioned dispute to the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court and to give judgment that the Application of May 13th last addressed to the Court by the Government of the United Kingdom against the Government of the People's Republic of Albania is inadmissible the United Kingdom Govemment having subrnitted the said Application contras to the provisions of Article 40 paragraph 1 and of Article 36 paragraph 1 of the Statute of the Court The Albanian Preliminary Objection was transmitted on December gth to the Agent for the United Kingdom and was communicated on December 11th to the Members of the United Nations pursuant to the provisions of Article 63 of the Statute By a n Order made on December o t h 1947 the President of the Court as the Court was not Sitting fixed January aoth 1948 as the time-limit for the presentation by the Government of the United Kingdom of a written statement of its observations and submissions in regard to the Preliminary Objection and received in the This statement dated January g t h 1948 Registry on the same date contains in addition to a number of arguments the following statements and submissions 9 a I t the Government of the United Kingdom has fully complied with the recommendation of the Security Council imniediately to refer the dispute to the Court I t did so in its Application of 13th May 1947 which fully and clearly indicated the subject of the dispute and the parties in accordance with Article 40 1 of the Statute of the Court and Article 32 2 of the Rules of Court b The Government of Albania after delivev of the United Kingdom Application stated in its letter of and July 1947 that it fuliy accepted the recomrnendation of the Security Council and that it was prepared to appear before the Court and to accept its jurisdiction in this case c This Albanian letter coupled with the Resolution of the Security Council of 9th April 1947 was accepted by the President of the Court as a document which satisfied the conditions laid down by the Security Council for the appearance before the Court of a State not party to the Statute See Resolution of the Security Council of 15th October 1946 under which a State not party to the Statute may make a 'particular declaration' accepting the jurisdiction of the Court in respect of a particular dispute only d In these circumstances the jurisdiction of the Court to make the Order of 31st July 1947 and to proceed with the trial of this dispute is fully established Under Article 36 1 of the Statute the jurisdiction of the Court comprises al1 cases THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 24 which the parties refer to it and there is no dispute which States entitled to appear before the Court cannot refer to it The parties have clearly referred the present dispute by the above-mentioned documents namely the United Kingdom Application of 13th May 1947 and the Albanian letter of 2nd July 1g47 which whether or not they constitute a 'special agreement' a t least constitute a 'reference' A special agreement is not necessary e Article 40 of the Statute mesely defines the forma1 basis for action by the Court in a case where jurisdiction is established by Article 36 1 There is nothing in the Statute or the Rules of Court which prevents the proceedings being formally instituted by application even though the jurisdiction of the Court is established by a 'reference' by the parties or by a 'special agreement' Accordingly the Government of the United Kingdom in bringing this matter before the Court by application has it is submitted proceeded correctly f Further there has been in fact an agreement between the parties constituted by the acceptance of the jurisdiction on the part of the Government of the United Kingdom in compliance with the Resolution of the Security Council of 9th April 1947 as evidenced by its Application of 13th May 1947 followed by an acceptance of the jurisdiction on the part of the Government of Albania in its letter of 2nd July 1947 to refer without prejudice to the A1bania i Gcivernment's view as to the interpretation of Article 25 of the Charter to the Court the issues defined in the Application This agreement possesses al1 the essentials of a 'special agreement' and conforms fully with Article 40 of the Statute g Even if which is not admitted there was any forma1 irregularity in the mode of the corniilencement of the present proceedings this irregularity has been cured because the Albanian Government by its letter of 2nd July 1947 has waived any possible objection and has consented to the jurisdiction of the Court An irregularity in the manner in which a case is introduced may be cured by subsequent events 12 Having once consented to the jurisdiction the Albanian Govern- ment canno-t aftenvaràs vii hdraw its consent i The President's Order of p s t July 1947 clearly proceeded upon the basis that the Albanian Government had definitely accepted the jurisdiction as was in fact the case I t is not competent for the Albanian Government to reopen the question of jurisdiction 12 I n view of the circumstances above referred to which constitute in the submission of the Government of the United Kingdom a clear acceptance by Albania of the jurisdiction of the Court the Government of the United Kicgd rnhas not in these Observations set forth arguments on the apciicability of Article 25 of the Charter However the Government of the United Kingdom must reserve the right if necessary to invoke the jurisdiction of the Court on the grounds set forth in its original Application 13 T H E CORFU CHANNEL CASE 25 I n conclusion the Government of the United Kingdom subrnits to the Court a that the preliminary objection submitted by the Government of Albania should be dismissed b that the Government of Albania should be directed to comply with the terms of the President's Order of 31st July 1947 and to deliver a Counter-Memorial on the merits of the dispute without further delay As the Court did not have upon the Bench a judge oI Albanian nationality the Albanian Government availed itself of the right provided by Article 31 paragraph 2 of the Statute and designated Dr Igor Daxner President of a Chamber of the Supreme Court of Czechoslovakia as judge ad hoc I n the course of public sittings held on February 26th 27th and 5th 1948 the Court heard and z8th and on March s t 2nd oral arguments on behalf of the respective parties M Kahreman Ylli Agent and Professor VochoE Counsel for Albania and Mr W E Beckett Agent and Sir Hartley Shawcross Counsel for the United Kingdom On being questioned by the President before the close of the hearing the Agent for the Albanian Government declared that the submissions presented in the Albanian Preliminary Objection of December gth 1947 were final submissions a similar declaration was made on behalf of the Agent for the Government of the United Kingdom with regard to the submissions in the Observations of the United Kingdom of January g t h1948 Documents in support were filed as annexes to the Application and Memorial of the United Kingdom Government to the Preliminary Objection of the Albanian Government and to the Observations of the United Kingdom Government in regard to this Preliminary Objection as well as in view of the oral proceedings l The above being the state of the proceedings the Court must now adjudicate upon the Preliminary Objection raised on behalf of the Government of the People's Republic of Albania In the written submissions which it confirmed orally a t the hearing on March 5th 1948 the Albanian Government requests the Court to place on record that the Albanian Government in accepting the Security Council's recommendation is only obliged to submit the above-mentioned dispute to the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court and to give judgment that the Application of May 13th last addressed to the Court by the Government of the United Kingdom against the - l See list in Annex 14 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 26 Government of the People's Republic of Albania is inadmissible the Government of the United Kingdom having submitted the said Application contrary to the provisions of Article 40 paragraph 1 and Article 36 paragraph 1 of the Statute of the Court The first submission relates t o the Resolution of April gth 1947 in which the Security Council recommended that the United Kingdom and Albanian Governments should immediately refer this dispute to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court The Albanian Government accepted this recommendation and on the basis of its acceptance recognizes its obligation to refer the dispute to the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Statute It is true that this obligation could only be fulfilled in accordance with the provisions of the Statute In recognizing this fact in accordance with the request of the Xlbanian Government the Court points out that that Government subsequently contracted other engagemen Is the date and exact scope of wl-iich will be established later The second submission of the Albanian Government which is disputed by the Government of the United Kingdom appears to constitute an objection on the ground of the inadmissibility of the Application The intention of the Albanian Government hourever seems t o be somewhat lacking in precision in this respect When it refers in its submissions to Article 40 paragraph 1 of the Statute of the Court the Albanian Government appears merely to have in mind a procedural irregularity resulting from the fact that the main proceedings were instituted by means of an application instead of by a special agreement concluded beforehand The Albanian Government however also refers to Article 36 paragraph 1 of the Statute a provision which relates exclusively to the jurisdiction of the Court and the criticisms which are directed against the Application of the United Kingdom in the text of the Preliminary Objection relate to an alleged lack of compulsory jurisdiction as well as to the forma1 admissibility of the Application This argument may be explained by the connexion which the United Kingdom Government for its part had made between the institution of proceedings by application and the existence alleged by it in this case of compulsory jurisdiction In support of its Application the Government of the United Kingdom invoked certain provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and of the Statute of the Court to establish the existence of a case of compulsory jurisdiction The Court does not consider that it needs to express an opinion on this point since as will be pointed out the letter of July znd 1947 addressed by the Albanian Government to the Court constitutes a voluntary acceptance of its jurisdiction The letter of July znd 1947 in spite of the reservation stated therein the exact scope of which will be considered later removes 15 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 27 all dif culties concerning the question of the admissibility of the Application and the question of the jurisdiction of the Court With respect to the rst point the Albanian Government while declaring on the one hand that it would be within its rights in holding that the GOVernment of the United Kingdom was not entitled to bring the case before the International Court by unilat- eral application without rst Concluding a special agreement with the Albanian Government states on the other hand that it is prepared notwithstanding this irregularity in the action taken by the Government of the United Kingdom to appear before the Court This language used by the Albanian Government cannot be understood otherwise than as a waiver of the right subsequently to raise an objection directed against the admissibility of the Applic ation founded on the alleged procedural irregularity of that instrument The letter of July 2nd 1947 is no less decisive as regards the question of the Court s jurisdiction Not only does the Albanian Government which had already assumed certain obligations towards the Security Council by its telegram of January 24th 1947 declare in that letter that it fully accepts the recommendation of the Security Council to the effect that the dispute should be referred to the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Court s Statute but after stating that it is profoundly convinced of the justice of its case it accepts in precise terms the jurisdiction of the Court for this case The letter of July 2nd therefore in the opinion of the Court constitutes a voluntary and indisputable acceptance of the Court s jurisdiction While the consent of the parties confers jurisdiction on the Court neither the Statute nor the Rules require that this consent should be expressed in any particular form The Albanian contention that the Application cannot be enter- tained because it has been led contrary to the provisions of Article 40 paragraph I and of Article 36 paragraph 1 of the Court s Statute is essentially founded on the assumption that the institution of proceedings by application is only possible where compulsory jurisdiction exists and that where it does not proceed- ings can only be instituted by special agreement This is a mere assertion which is not justified by either of the texts cited Article 32 paragraph 2 of the Rules does not require the Applicant as an absolute necessity but only as far as pos- sible to specify in the application the provision on which he founds the jurisdiction of the Court It clearly implies both by its actual terms and by the reasons underlying it that the institution of proceedings by application is not exclusively reserved for the domain of compulsory jurisdiction 7 In submitting the case by means of an Application the Govern- ment of the United Kingdom gave the Albanian Government the 16 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 28 opportunity of accepting the jurisdiction of the Court This acceptance was given in the Albanian Government's letter of July and 1947 Besides separate action of this kind was in keeping with the respective positions of the parties in proceedings where there is in fact a claimant the United Kingdom and a defendant Albania Furthermore there is nothing to prevent the acceptance of jurisdiction as in the present case from being effected by two separate and successive acts instead of jointly and beforehand by a special agreement As the Permanent Court of International Justice has said in its Judgment No 12 of Aprilz6th 1928 page 23 The acceptance by a State of the Court's jurisdiction in particular case is not under the Statute subordinated to the observance of certain forms such as for instance the previous conclusion of a special agreement The Security Council's recommendation has been relied upon to support opposite conclusions But in the first place though this recommendation clearly indicates that the bringing of the case before the Court requires action on the part of the parties it does not specify that this action must be taken jointly and in the second place the method of submitting the case to the Court is regulated by the texts goveming the working of the Court as was pointed out by the Security Council in its recornmendation The Court cannot therefore hold to be irregular a proceeding which is not precluded by any provision in Ihese te its The scope of the reservation formulated in the letter of July and 1947 has still to be considered The reservation is as follows Nevertheless the Albanian Government makes the most explicit reservations respecting the manner in which the Government of the United Kingdom has brought the case before the Court in application of the Security Council's recornmendation and more especially respecting the interpretation which that Government has sought to place on Article 25 of the Charter with reference to the binding character of the Security Council's recommendations The Albanian Government wishes to emphasize that its acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction for this case cannot constitute a precedent for the future This reservation is the only limit set by the Albanian Government either to its acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction or to its abandonment of any objection to the admissibility of the proceedings I t is for the Court to decide with binding force as between the parties what is the interpretation of the letter of July znd 1947 I t is clear that the reservation contained in the letter is intended only to maintain a principle and to preveiit the establishment of a precedent as regards the future The Albanian Government makes its reservations-both as to the manner in which the United Kingdom Government has instituted 17 THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 29 the proceedings and as to the interpretation which that Government claimed to give to Article 25 of the Charter with a view to establishing the Court's compulsory jurisdiction-not for the purposes of the present proceedings but in order to retain complete freedom of decision in the futuie I t is clear that no question of a precedent could arise unless the letter signified in the present case the acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction on the merits The reservation in the letter of July 2nd 1947 therefore does not enable Albania to raise a preliminary objection based on an irregularity of procedure or to dispute thereafter the Court's jurisdiction on the merits while placing on record the declaration contained in the first submission of the Albanian Government but subject to the explicit reservation of the obligations assumed by that Government in its letter of July end 1947 by fifteen votes against one 1 rejects the Preliminary Objection submitted by the Albanian Government on December gth 1947 2 decides that proceedings on the merits shall continue and fixes the time-limits for the filing of subsequent pleadings as follows a for the Counter-Mernorial of the Albanian Government Tuesday June 15th 1948 b for the Reply of the United Kingdom Government Monday August znd 1948 c for the Rejoinder of the Albanian Government Monday September zoth 1948 The present judgment has been drafted in French and English the French text being authoritative THE CORFU CHANNEL CASE 30 Done at the Peace Palace The Hague this twenty-fifth day of March one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight in three copies one of which shall be placed in the archives of the Court and the others delivered to the Governments of the People's Republic of Albania and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland respectively Signed J G GUERRERO President Signed EDVARD HAMBRO Registrar Judges BASDEVANT ALVAREZ WINIARSKI ZORIEI DE VISSCHER BADAWIPASHA KRYLOV whilst concurring in the judgment of the Court have availed themselves of the right conferred on them by Article 57 of the Statute and appended to the judgment a statement of their separate opinion M DAXNER Judge ad hoc declaring that he is unable to concur in the judgment of the Court has availed himself of the right conferred on him by Article 57 of the Statute and appended to the judgment a statement of his separate opinion Initialled J G G Initialled E H ANNEX LIST OF DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED TO T H E COURT A -In IO II 12 the course of tlze written proceedirtgs Admiralty Chart No 206 showing the Corfu Strait Section of German Mine Information Chart This is a chart which was captured Ey the Allies showing the North Corfu Channel and the position of mines laid by the Axis there and the original chart has been filed with the Registry International Agreement between the Governments of the United Kingdom France U S S R and the United States setting up the Mine Clearance Boards and dated eend November 1945 Affidavit by despatch clerk at the Admiralty proving despatch of Medri Charts to Albania Section of Medri Index Chart showing North Corfu swept channel and the international highway established therein together with Medri pamphlets for use with the Index Chart A single copy of the entire Chart and of the complete pamphlets numbered 5 g and 12 have been filed with Registry Diplomatic correspondence between the Government of the United Kingdom and Albania regarding the right of navigation in the Strait of Corfu Admiralty tracings showing the North Corfu swept channel and the position and tracks of H M ships Orion Superb Leander Saumarez and Il Iauritizrs passing through the North Corfu Channel on 15th May 1946 and on zznd October 1946 Photographs of H M S Saumarez below water line and Volage bows blown off taken shortly after the explosion on zznd October 1946 Admiralty tracing showing position of H M 's ships at the time of the explosion Report on damage to H M S Snunzare Report on damage to H M S Volage List of sailors killed with statement of pensions etc payable to dependants List of sailors injured with statement of expenses pensions etc Statement of cost of repairs to the Volage and cost of replacement of the Saumarez Minutes of Mine Clearance Boards Reports of Capitaine Mestre There were two reports both in French The reason wliy tliere were two reports was because Capitaine Mestre wished to niake T H E CORFU CHANNEL CASE 47 certain corrections in his second report of certain statements which he had made in his first report Reports on Operation Retail The minesweeping operation of 13th November 1946 Chart showing position in which mines were found on 13th November 1946 Photographs of the mines Report on mines examined at Admiralty Mining Establishment Leigh Park House Hants Chart showing the defences of Saranda Affidavit of Skipper Bargellini regarding the incident of U N R 1I A barges on 29th October 1946 Documents and records of the Security Council etc re1ati e to the dispute Letter from the Deputy-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of Albania to the Registrar of the Court dated July znd 1947 attached as annex to the Observations and Submissions of the Government of the United Kingdom of January g t h 19481 B -During the oral proceedings Several extracts from the Records of the Security Council Second Year and of the Security Council Committee on the Admission of New Members 16th 17th and 18th Meetings 1947 A -f uring the ze rittenproceedings Resolution of the Security Council of the United Nations adopted on April gth 1947 Cable from the Acting Secretary-General to the President of the Council of Ministers of the People's Kepublic of Albania dated 20th January 1947 and reply dated 24ih January 1947 B -During the oral proceedings Extracts from the publication Documents of the United Nations Confereme o n International Organization San Francisco 1945 photo-lithoprinted from original documents Vol XI XII XII1 and XIV Extracts from the publication Permanent Court of International Justice Advisory Comnzittee of Jztrists Procès-verbaztx of the proceedi gs of the Committee Jzme 16th-July 24th 1920 with annexes The Hague 1920 Extract from the publication League of Nations Report to the Second Assentbly of the Leagzre o n the W o r k of tlzc Col nciland o n the Measures taken to execute the decisions of the First Assenibly A 9 1921 Geneva 18th August 1921 Extract from the publication Report to the Preside rlof the resltlts of the S a r Francisco Conjerence by the Chairnzan of the United N d i o n s Delegatiolz the Secretary of State Jurte 26 1945 Department of State Publication 2349 Conference Series 71 36 T H E CORFU CHANNEL CASE 48 Extract from the publication Department of External dffairs Conference Series 1945 Vo 2 Report o n the United Nations Conference on International Organizatiom held at S a n Francisco 25th April-26th June 1945 Ottawa Extracts from the publication Heuriltg before the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate Seventy-ninth Congress First Session on the Chnrter of fhe United Natio zsfor the maintenance of international peace and secztrity sztbmitted by the President of the United States on J u l y 2 1945 Unrevised July 10 1945 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Government Printing Office Iliashington 1945 Extract from the article T h e Jzrrisdiction of the Seczirity Cozincil over Disputes American Journal of International Law Volume 40 No 3 July 1946 by Clyde Eagleton Professor of New York University Expert of the Delegation of United States of America to the San Francisco Conference Extracts from the publication Docz mentsof the United h'ations Conference o n Inter'itationnl Organization San Francisco 1945 Photo-lithoprinted from original documents published in cooperation with the Library of Congress by United Nations Information Organizations 1945 London-New York Voi XI 9 Extract from the Publication Republic of Chile Ministry for External Affairs Chile and the San Francisco Conference Santiago MCMXLV IO Extract from the publication T h e Records of the First Assembly Meetings of the Committees Geneva 1920 Minutes of the Meetings of the Third Cornmittee Permanent Court of International Justice Fifth Meeting 8 December 1920 I I Extract from the publication Leagzie of Nations Tlze Records of the First Assembly Meeting of Committee I Geneva 1920 12 Extract from the publication Permanent Coztrt of I ltternntio zal Justice Series D Acts and Documents concerning the Orgawiztltio z of the Court Addendum to No 2 Revision of the Rules of Court Extract from the publication Th e Britisl 1-earbook of 17ztena ztz'onal Law 1930 Oxford Decisions of the Permanent Coztrt of Interrtational Jzrsticc o7r Points O Law and Procedztre of Gefiernl Applictrtion by W E Beckett M A Formerly Fellow of Al1 Souls College Oxford Legal Adviser to the Foreign Office Extract from the publication Permalient Coztrt of I d e r t n t i o t a l Justice Series D Acts and Docztments c ncerningthe O Y L E L ization of the Cozwt T h i n i Adde Cdftm to N O 2 E l a b o r z t i oof the Rztles of Cozsrt of Marciz th 1936 Leyden 1936