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Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes

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Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes

Dispute
A disagreement on a point of law or fact, a conflict of legal views or interest between the
parties (Coquia and Santiago, 2005)
International Dispute
• Actual disagreement between States regarding the conduct taken by one of them for
protection or vindication of the interests of the other (Nachura, 2009)
• A disagreement on a point of law or fact, a conflict of legal views or of interests between two
States. Disputes relate to an alleged breach of one or more legal duties. They may also relate to
a question of attribution of title to territory, to maritime zones, to movables or to parts of the
cultural heritage of a State (Brownlie, 2009)
Kinds of Disputes
1. Political disputes
Non-justiciable, political or non-legal issues
2.Legal disputes
Involves not only questions of law but also the law itself
Pacific Settlement of Disputes
Art. 33 of the UN Charter provides for the means of settling disputes:
1. Negotiation
2. Enquiry
3. Mediation
4. Conciliation
5. Arbitration
6. Judicial settlement
7. Resort to regional agencies or arrangements
8. Other peaceful means of their own choice
1. Negotiation
 It is the duty of the state to enter negotiation;
 According to Article 2 (3) UN Charter and from duty listed in the Friendly Relations
Declaration of 1970 to select such means as may be appropriate to the
circumstances and the nature of the dispute.
 Settlement of disputes by direct discussions or exchange of views through diplomatic
representatives.
 Negotiation is a flexible means of peaceful settlement of disputes in several respects. It can
be applied to all kinds of disputes, whether political, legal or technical.
Example:

In the North Sea Continental shelf case, parties to a dispute maybe even under obligation “to
conduct themselves that the negotiations are meaningful”.
2.Enquiry

 Ascertainment of pertinent facts and issues in a dispute.


 The 1907 Hague Convention describes the task of a commissioner of enquiry as to
‘facilitate a solution by means of an impartial and contentious investigation.
 Establishing the facts of law.
 Use of effective fact- finding bodies in accordance of Art. 33 of the Charter
For Example, often Enquiry Commission is appointed in relation to the settlement of border
dispute. The Commission clarifies the Facts after making enquiry into the relevant facts.

3.Mediation
 Settlement of dispute undertaken by a third State, group of States, an individual, an
agency or an international organization
 Offers concrete proposals for settlement of substantive questions
Example:
Examples of successful mediation by states usually are by ;
1.the USSR in 1966 in conflict between India and Pakistan (Tashkent Agreement 1966)
2.the US in the Arab Israeli conflict in the 1978 Camp David peace negotiations between Israel
and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
4.Tender of Good Office
 Offer of a third party to settle international dispute
 Facilitate efforts towards settlement of dispute and act as a channel of communication
for parties]
 Normally seeks to encourage the parties to resume negotiation
Example:
In the dispute between Iran and US in which they were not speaking to one another, Algeria
played a critical role leading to the re-establishment of Iran-US claims Tribunal in The Hague.

4.Mediation vs Tender of Good Office


 In mediation, third party offers a solution and makes proposals;
 good office merely brings the parties together
5.Conciliation
 A combination of mediation and inquiry (Handbook on the Peaceful Settlement of
Disputes between State, 1992)
 Conciliations between states, third parties cannot take initiative on their own and are
appointed on the agreement of concerned parties.
 Conciliators can be appointed on the basis of their function e.g. heads of states or
Secretary General of the UN.
Example:
to it as evidenced by the 1990 UN Draft Rules on Conciliation of Disputes between
states and the 1992 Conference on Security and Co-Operation in Europe (CSCE)
Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration

6.Arbitration
 Resolution of differences between States through a legal decision of one or more
umpires or of a tribunal chosen by the parties
 The appointment and selection of arbitrators and the arbitrators agree on the third
arbitrator
Example:
 The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by the
first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and then President of Pakistan Ayub
Khan on the behalf of World Bank.

7.Resort to Regional Arrangements and other Agencies


 Regional arrangements
agreements (regional multilateral treaties) under which States of a region undertake to
regulate their relations with respect to the question of the settlement of disputes, without
creating thereunder a permanent institution or a regional international organization with
international legal personality
 Regional agencies
regional international organizations created by regional multilateral treaties under a
permanent institution with international legal personality to perform broader functions in the
field of the maintenance of peace and security, including the settlement of disputes.
Judicial Settlement
 Submitting a dispute to a pre-constituted international court or tribunal composed of
independent judges whose tasks are settle claims on the basis of international law and
render decisions which are binding upon the parties
8.International Court of Justice
 Established in 1946 as a principal organ of the United Nations
 Its seat is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands)
 it replaced the Permanent Court of International Justice which had functioned in the
Peace Palace since 1922
 Composition:

– 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General


Assembly and Security Council sitting independently of each other.
– It may not include more than one judge of any nationality.
– Elections are held every three years for one-third of the seats, and retiring judges may
be re-elected. The Members of the Court do not represent their governments but are
independent magistrates.
– The judges must possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for
appointment to the highest judicial offices, or be jurists of recognized competence in
international law.
– The composition of the Court has also to reflect the main forms of civilization and the
principal legal systems of the world.

 Functions:
-to settle in accordance with international law the legal disputes submitted to it by
States, and
-to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized
international organs and agencies.
 Parties to a case:
- Only States may be parties to cases brought before the Court
 Jurisdiction and competence of the court:
- jurisdiction of the Court depends upon consent, the recognition of the States of the
jurisdiction of the Court over a dispute. Recognition may be expressed by
1.Special agreement
2.Compromissory clause in treaties
3.Other means (declaration of States that they accept in advance the jurisdiction of the
court in certain cases; Optional Clause)
Reservation to Acceptance of Jurisdiction
• Types:
2.Rationae temporize – temporal jurisdiction refers to the jurisdiction usually of a court of law
over a proposed action in relation to the passage of time
3.Matters within the domestic jurisdiction of the declarant.

Muhammad Abbas
*************

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