INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE SPECIAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNION OF ARESSIA (APPLICANT) AND THE REPUBLIC OF BORESSIA (RESPONDENT) COMPROMIS

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE SPECIAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNION OF ARESSIA (APPLICANT) AND THE REPUBLIC OF BORESSIA (RESPONDENT) Jointly notified to the Court on 29 th November 2016 COMPROMIS NINTH JUSTICE HIDAYATULLAH MEMORIAL NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION (HNMCC), 2017 HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY Uparwara Post, Naya Raipur (C.G.)

2 JOINT NOTIFICATION ADDRESSED TO THE REGISTRAR OF THE COURT The Hague, 29 th November 2016 On behalf of the Union of Aressia and the Republic of Boressia, and in accordance with Article 40(1), paragraph 1, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, we have the honor to transmit to you an original copy of the Special Agreement for submission to the International Court of Justice on the Differences between the Applicant and the Respondent concerning the Under Sea Pipelines and the Protection of Lapwings, signed in The Hague, The Netherlands, on the fifteenth day of November in the year two thousand sixteen. /s/ Ambassador of the Union of Aressia to the Republic of Boressia /s/ Ambassador of the Republic of Boressia to the Union of Aressia

3 SPECIAL AGREEMENT SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE BY THE UNION OF ARESSIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF BORESSIA ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM CONCERNING THE UNDER SEA PIPELINES AND THE PROTECTION OF LAPWINGS The Union of Aressia (the Applicant) and the Republic of Boressia (the Respondent) (hereinafter the Parties): Recalling that the Parties are Members of the United Nations and that the Charter of the United Nations calls on Members to settle international disputes by peaceful means, Considering that differences have arisen between them concerning the Under Sea Pipelines and Lapwings and other matters; Noting that the Parties have been unable to settle these differences by direct negotiations; Desiring further to define the issues to be submitted to the International Court of Justice (the Court) for resolution; In furtherance thereof the Parties have concluded this Special Agreement: Article 1 The Parties submit the questions contained in this Special Agreement (the Case) to the Court pursuant to Article 40(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. Article 2 It is agreed by the Parties that the Union of Aressia shall appear as Applicant and the Republic of Boressia as Respondent, but such agreement is without prejudice to any question of the burden of proof. Article 3 (a) The Court is requested to decide the Case on the basis of the rules and principles of international law, including any applicable treaties.

4 (b) The Court is also requested to determine the legal consequences, including the rights and obligations of the Parties, arising from its Judgment on the questions presented in the Case. Article 4 (a) The proceedings shall consist of written pleadings and oral arguments. (b) The written pleadings shall consist of memorials to be submitted simultaneously to the Court by the Parties. Procedures shall be regulated in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Official Rules of the Hidayatullah Memorial National Moot Court Competition, (c) No change can be made in any written pleadings once it has been submitted as per the Official Rules of the Hidayatullah Memorial National Moot Court Competition, Article 5 (a) The Parties shall accept any Judgment of the Court as final and binding upon them and shall execute it in its entirety and in good faith. (b) Immediately after the receipt of any Judgment, the Parties shall enter into negotiations on the modalities for its execution. In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized, have signed the present Special Agreement and have affixed thereto their respective seals of office. Done in The Hague, The Netherlands, this fifteenth day of November in the year two thousand sixteen. /s/ Ambassador of the Union of Aressia to the Republic of Boressia /s/ Ambassador of the Republic of Boressia to the Union of Aressia

5 SPECIAL AGREEMENT Union of Aressia v. Republic of Boressia 1. The Union of Aressia (hereinafter Aressia), a South Asian country is a union of 26 states and is having a written Constitution and a federal government with strong centralizing tendency. It is a land of many small and big rivers, and its southern part is a peninsula which is bounded by the Bay of Borossi in the east, the Arbanian Sea in the west and the Aressian Ocean in the south. It is a land of many cultures and religions and has many cultural festivals which are unique in the world. Aressia shares its boundary with the country Republic of Boressia at its South East. 2. The Republic of Boressia (hereinafter Boressia) is an agriculture based country and one of the major producers of sugarcane in the world with an annual production of nearly 30,000 metric tons of sugarcane. In the agricultural sector, the sugarcane share is about 30% of the total value of agriculture output. The Republic of Boressia depends on sugarcane not only for meeting its domestic demand for sugar but also for exporting sugar and for producing renewable energy from its byproducts. About 3,000 companies are working in the field of manufacturing of sugar and allied products solely based on the sugarcane farming in the country. 3. Aressia enjoys a strategic position due to its geographical location and has maintained good friendly relations with its neighbouring countries including Boressia and Burmessia. The Republic of Boressia is situated at the south-east of Aressia and is having an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles and a Continental Shelf of 198 nautical miles in the Bay of Borossi. In the year 2002, Aressia commissioned its ambitious project Under Sea Pipeline Project for carrying natural gas from Republic of Burmessia to the State of Vindhya in Union of Aressia. The Pipeline Project starts from Republic of Burmessia and passes via the Boressian Exclusive Economic Zone in Bay of Borossi to the State of Vindhya in Union of Aressia. The Pipeline Project can carry 20 million standard cubic meters natural gas per day and is of great strategic value to the Aressian government. For this project Aressia had obtained permission from Boressia as nearly 500 km of the said pipeline had to pass through a distance of

6 190 nautical miles from the base line of Boressia and had to be fixed in the continental shelf of Boressia. This project was concluded by Aressia and Burmessia; however, as Aressia did not have the technical expertise to install the said pipelines it gave the contract to lay the pipeline and carry out its maintenance to a British Company for a period of 20 years. 4. The checking and maintenance of the pipeline was conducted by the British Company once in a year. In December 2014, during the periodic checking of the pipelines, the technical experts from British Company identified that there was a need for maintenance of a part of the pipeline situated in the continental shelf region of Boressia. Hence, the Aressian Government obtained permission from Boressian Government and the Company started the maintenance work. Along with the team of the Company, one submarine and one ship of Aressia also participated in the maintenance work for providing assistance if required. During the maintenance work, there was small leakage in the pipeline, however it was properly managed and controlled. The natural gas which had escaped was collected and liquefied by the Ship participating in the maintenance work and later it was pumped into the high sea. Due to the release of liquefied natural gas into the high sea several species of marine organisms died. 5. When this matter came to the knowledge of Boressian government, the President of Boressia through an Official statement said, we are withdrawing the permission granted to Aressia to undertake maintenance activity in Under Sea Pipeline Project, and requested Aressia to remove the said pipelines from their continental shelf region. 6. Boressia deployed its military submarines and warships to avoid any interference by Aressia in the said region. The Boressian military submarine while passing through the continental shelf region found several sonic detection devices placed in the continental shelf. Later on in February 2015 it was identified that the sonic detection devices were placed by Aressia. Aressia claimed that the devices were placed to detect any possible threats to their under sea pipelines in the said area. However, Boressia objected to the placing of sonic detection devices in its continental shelf and stated that it was a violation of International Law.

7 7. During the year 2012 onwards it was observed that the economic growth of Boressia was showing a decline due to large decrease in the annual production of sugarcane in Republic of Boressia. In 2015, Boressian Sugar Crop Research Institute (BSRI) has identified that, the main reason for this decrease in annual production of sugarcane was the spread of Ramu stunt disease. The Ramu stunt disease was infecting the sugarcane crop and was responsible for large yield losses in commercial sugarcane varieties. This disease was spread by Planthopper, an insect which acted as a vector for Ramu stunt disease. The Planthopper, both adult and nymphs occur in youngest unfolded leaves of sugarcane and their population was greatest between January to March. After this report was published, the farmers in Boressia started using large quantities of chemical insecticides containing Benzelene for controlling Planthopper and Ramu stunt disease. 8. The Red wattled Lapwing, a beautiful bird is the natural pest for Planthopper infecting sugarcane. Traditionally Red wattled Lapwing is considered as the Friend of Farmer in Boressia due to the fact that it mainly forages in sugarcane field and completely destroys the Planthopper s. The Lapwings not only eats Planthopper s but also picks up and eats the larva of Planthopper in the leaves of sugarcane. During the last decade there was a large scale decrease in the number of Red wattled Lapwings and hence the population of the Planthopper s had increased tremendously. As a result the Ramu stunt disease became rampant in the sugarcane fields across the country. 9. The Lapwings are long-distance migratory birds which travel from Boressia to Aressia for breeding purposes. The Lapwings are found near and on farmland throughout Boressia particularly in the sugarcane fields. During its breeding season, from last week of March to August it travels all the way from Boressia to Southern parts of Aressia and settles there. Once the younger Lapwings are in a position to fly they return back to Boressia. 10. The Red wattled Lapwing was a common bird in Aressia. In recent years the number of native Red wattled Lapwings had reduced tremendously and as a result it was included in the IUCN Aressia Red List in the year However, every year from

8 the last week of March to August, thousands of Red wattled Lapwings from Boressia migrate to Aressia and settle in the southern part of Aressia for breeding purposes. 11. In Aressia, the Kite Flying Festival is a very popular and unique festival celebrated every year during the months of April and May. Traditionally, the Kite Flying Festival was celebrated during the months of April and May as a part of culture in the country, particularly in the southern part of Aressia. In July 2015, a report published by the National Surveys of Aressia has pointed out that, from the past two years, thousands of Lapwings were getting injured every year and losing their life due to the use of glass coated kite strings. 12. After this report, in Aressia, there was several protests from environmentalists and other nature lovers against the Kite Festival during April to May on the ground that it was a big threat to birds especially Lapwings. The Boressian President also requested Aressian Prime Minister during his visit to Aressia, to impose a ban on Kite Festival. 13. In Aressia, a new form of Viral Fever which affected human beings and cattle was reported in July As a result of this fever, hundreds of human beings and cattle inhabiting the southern part of Aressia died. The Department of Health and Family Welfare in its research found that this fever was caused by H6N2 virus which has its origin in Boressia. The report pointed out that, the H6N2 virus had triggered in Boressia due to the indiscriminate use of chemical insecticide in the sugar cane field. The H6N2 virus was spreading in the southern part of Aressia through the droppings of Red wattled Lapwings. This matter got wide publicity and people started hunting and capturing Lapwings. There were some shocking videos on international media that some people were capturing Lapwings and burning it alive. 14. Save Bird s International (SBI), is an International NGO working in the field of protection of migratory birds. It reported that around ten thousand Lapwings have died due to the massacre which has happened in the months of July to August in Aressia and 98% of these Lapwings were part of migratory Lapwings from Boressia. 15. The indiscriminate killing of Lapwings in Aressia was protested strongly by environmentalists and farmers in Boressia. Huge protest demonstrations were staged

9 by environmentalists and farmer s organizations. On behalf of these organizations, Boressia has approached Aressian Supreme Court claiming damages for the killing of Lapwings as it has an impact on sugarcane production in the country. The Republic of Boressia took a stand that, the reason for increase in Ramu stunt disease and loss of sugarcane crops was due to the reduction in the number of Lapwings. In the said petition, Aressia raised a counter claim of compensation for all losses suffered in the country due to the spread of H6N2 virus. 16. The countries also initiated diplomatic negotiations to settle their disputes and as a result the Parties agreed to submit the matters of disputes to the International Court of Justice under a special agreement. The laws of Aressia and Boressia are in pari materia with laws of India and Bangladesh respectively. All the international instruments applicable to India and Bangladesh are also applicable to Aressia and Boressia respectively. 17. Applicant, the Union of Aressia, respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare that: I. Withdrawal of permission to maintain the Under Sea pipelines and order to remove the said Pipelines by Boressia is violation of international obligations by Boressia. II. Placing of the sonic detection devices in the continental shelf of Boressia by Aressia is not a violation of international obligations by Aressia. III. The claim of Boressia that Aressia is responsible for the loss of sugarcane crops due to reduction in number of Lapwings is not justifiable. IV. Boressia has the obligation to compensate all losses suffered in Aressia due to H6N2 virus as Boressia is having state responsibility. 18. Respondent, the Republic of Boressia, respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare that:

10 I. Withdrawal of permission to Aressia to maintain the Under Sea Pipelines and order to remove the said Pipeline is not a violation of international obligations by Boressia. II. Placing of the sonic detection devices in the continental shelf of Boressia by Aressia is a violation of international obligations by Aressia. III. Aressia is responsible for the loss of sugarcane crops due to reduction in number of Lapwings. IV. The claim of Aressia for compensation from Boressia for the loss suffered in Aressia due to H6N2 virus is not justifiable. *************************