EVIDENCE BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

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1 EVIDENCE BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ANNA RIDDELL AND BRENDAN PLANT British Institute of International and Comparative Law

2 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1 I. The Diversity of Approaches to Judicial Fact-Finding 1 II. Fact-Finding in International Dispute Settlement 2 III. the Subject of the Study: the International Court of Justice 4 IV. The Aim of the Study 6 V. Background to the Current Research 7 VI. Personnel and Methodology 7 VII. Structure of the Book 9 2. STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COURT: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE COURTS APPROACH TO EVIDENCE 11 I. Functions and Features of the Court 12 A. Rôle in the Légal Order of the United Nations 12 B. Governing Documents: Constitution and (Self-) Régulation Formation of Chambers 15 II. Parties and Participation; Coopération and Control 16 A. States Parties and Other Participants Intervention and submission of évidence by third party States 17 B. Sovereign Equality and the Consent Criterion 20 C. Coopération Between the Court and the Parties Consultation with the Président of the Court Procédural modifications The Registry 23 D. A Shift in Approach? From Complaisance to Control 23 III. Evolution of the Court's Evidentiary Practice 26 A. Revision of the Rules 26 B. Practice Directions 27 C. Précèdent Stare decisis and précèdent Stare decisis and the ICJ Stare decisis in practice in the ICJ Stare decisis and évidence before the ICJ 31 D. Separate and Dissenting Opinions 31 IV. Composition and Culture of the Court 34 A. Composition of the Court Professional background Légal traditions Inquisitorial v adversarial légal Systems 37

3 Ï Contents 4. Judges ad hoc Local knowledge Procédural considérations 44 V. Conclusion PRODUCTION OF EVIDENCE: RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTIES, POWERS OF THE COURT 47 I. Production of Evidence by the Parties 48 A. Rights and Responsibilities Freedom of production A gênerai duty of disclosure? Responsibility not to contravene international law in producing évidence Implicit ancillary rights of the parties 51 (a) Confidentiality/privilege 51 (b) Production/disclosure 51 (c) Withdrawal of évidence 51 B. Rules Governing the Production of Documentary Evidence Manner of production Production and admissibility 53 C. Production of Testimonial Evidence: Witnesses and Experts Other rules concerning witness and expert testimony 54 H. The Court's Powers to Obtain Evidence 56 A. The Court's General Powers 57 B. The Court's Power to Request Additional Documents or Explanations 58 C. The Court's Power to Question Witnesses 59 D. The Court's Power to Call Witnesses 61 E. The Court's Power to Appoint Experts 62 F. Site Visits 66 III. Problems and Prospects 68 A. Problems with the Production of Evidence The burden of superfluous évidence Neglect of the Court's powers and the insufficiency of évidence 69 B. Prospects and Proposais Limiting the volume or number of evidentiary items Preliminary proceedings on questions of fact and proof 75 IV. Conclusion PROOF 79 I. Introduction 79 H. Burden of Proof 80 A. Distinction Between Burden of Proof and Burden of Evidence 81

4 Contents 1. The burden of évidence in national law The burden of évidence in the ICJ The 'Burden of Persuasion' and the 'Présentation of Pleadings and Evidence' 85 B. Actori Incumbit Onus Probandi Problem of identifying the claimant The application of the principle in the ICJ Difficulties with the application of the principle in the ICJ Cases brought by Application versus cases brought by Spécial Agreement 98 C. Duty of Coopération on the Parties 98 III. Presumption and Inferences and their Effect on Proof 99 A. Presumptions Presumptions in national law Presumptions in international law Classification of presumptions in international law Examples of presumptions in the ICJ 104 B. Irrebuttable Presumptions 108 C. Presumptions Shifting the Burden of Proof 109 D. Inferences Distinction between presumptions and inferences Inferences and circumstantial évidence Positive and négative inferences Examples of situations in which the Court will draw inferences Adverse inferences from silence and the nonproduction of documents Non-appearance of one of the Parties to a case 120 IV. Standard of Proof 123 A. Potential Standards of Proof 124 B. Does the Court Employ a Spécifie Standard? 125 C. Debate on the Standard of Proof in the ICJ 130 D. A Variable Standard of Proof Boundary disputes, or assessing competing daims not attributing international responsibility Cases where the international responsibility of the State is involved Higher standard for charges of exceptional gravity 134 E. Conclusion on the Standard of Proof in the ICJ 136 V. Matters not Requiring Proof 137 A. Judicial Notice Judicial Notice in international law International jurisprudence: developments 142 B. Jura Novit Curia 144 xi

5 xii Contents 1. International conventions Customary international law General principles of law recognised by civilised nations 147 VI. Conclusion ADMISSIBILITE AND USE OF EVIDENCE 151 I. Ail Evidence is Generally Admissible 152 A. Some Limitations of the Principle Evidence from negotiations Dlegally obtained évidence 155 B. Conclusion on Admissibility 158 H. Submission of Evidence 159 A. Extracts 161 B. Translations 163 C. Certification Challenging authenticity 166 D. Late Submission of 'New' Documents Prohibition on production of new documents Article 56 of the Rules Procédure for requesting production of new documents Explaining necessity and delay Comments by the other party 177 (a) Réservation of the right of response 177 (b) Exhaustion of the right of response Timing and form of comments in response Extension of the principle: Submissions of documents after the oral hearings and during applications for review 'Readily available'documents 181 E. Conclusion on the Submission of Evidence 184 III. Assessment of Evidence 185 A. The Court's General Principles of Evidentiary Assessment The Nicaragua Case Weight given in cases of non-appearance Statements against a party's interest Criticism of Nicaragua 189 B. DRCv Uganda 190 C. The Génocide Convention Case 191 D. Summary of Principles of Assessment 192 E. Weighing Witness Testimony Hearsay 195 F. Expert Evidence 198 IV. Conclusion on Admissibility and Use of Evidence 201

6 Contents 6. NON-PRODUCTION, PRIVILEGE, AND NON-APPEARANCE 203 I. Non-production Generally 204 H. State Secrets and Privilège 206 A. Municipal Rules Protecting Privileged Communication 206 B. Privilège in International Litigation 207 C. Privilège in the PCIJ Jurisprudence 208 D. State Secrets in ICJ Litigation The Corfu Channel case naval secrets The Génocide Convention case 'redacted' minutes of military meetings 212 (a) Responses to the décision 215 E. Difficulties and Prospects 217 H!. Non-appearance 219 A. Purpose 219 B. Conséquences of Non-appearance for the Parties 220 C. Application of Article D. Implications for the Court The duty of self-satisfaction 222 (a) Questions of law 223 (b) Questions of fact Irregular communications from the absent party Evaluation of évidence 227 E. Concluding Remarks on Non-Appearance 228 IV. Conclusion DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE 231 I. Introduction 231 A. The Primacy of Documentary Evidence 232 H. Characterization of Documentary Evidence 233 A. No Définition 233 B. The Variety of Documentary Forms of Evidence 234 III. The Types of Documentary Evidence and the Issues Affecting their Use 235 A. Treaties and International Agreements 235 B. Documents from International Sources United Nations reports Officiai working documents of the UN UN Resolutions, voting outcomes and other formai pronouncements Documents, évidence, and décisions from international tribunals 243 la) The value of ICTY décisions 244 b) Other international tribunals NGO reports 247 xiii

7 xiv Contents (a) Procédural différences 248 (b) Evaluative différence 249 C. Documents from National Sources National législation Officiai déclarations and public statements Officiai records Internai documents Documents from third party States 254 D. Maps and Cartographie Materials The evidentiary rôles of maps Probative weight given by the Court to maps 258 (a) Cautious approach to maps as évidence 25o (b) Spécial vigilance 259 (c) Map-makers and hearsay évidence 259 (d) Reluctance to give maps probative value 260 (e) Case study: Burkina Faso/Mali 261 (f) Maps drawn by boundary commissions and other officiai or government bodies Maps as évidence in identifying a boundary 266 (a) Maps are not a root of légal title per se 266 (b) Maps as integrated into a boundary treaty 267 (c) Maps as corroborating other évidence 268 (d) Maps as contradictory évidence 269 (e) Maps as évidence of the intention of states 270 (f) Maps as évidence of acquiescence 270 (g) Maps as évidence of notoriety of the facts to an opposing state 273 (h) Maps as évidence of the subséquent practice of states 273 (i) Maps as a means of interpreting a treaty 274 (j) Maps as évidence of certain facts Conclusions 276 E. Press Reports Press information as corroborative secondary évidence The minimal value of press information 278 F. Affidavits Submission Evaluation Source and content of statements Timing, purpose, and context of production Summary 283 G. Audio and Visual Materials: Photographs, Films, Models Submission Evaluation 287 H. Satellite Imagery and Digital Mapping Submission Evaluation 291

8 Contents xv (al Disagreements relating to production of the image 292 (b) Disagreements over interprétation 293 (c) Reliance upon satellite imagery 294 (d) Problems and prospects 296 I. Historical Documents The rôle of historical évidence 297 (a) Colonial législation 298 (b) The multiple forms of 'title' 299 (c) Effectivités Incomplète or fragmentary records Assessment by the Court 302 IV. Conclusion TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE 307 I. The Lack of Testimonial Evidence in the ICJ 308 II. Procédure Concerning Testimonial Evidence 311 A. Witness Handling 315 III. Categorization Witness, Expert, or Witness-Expert 319 A. Création of the Category of Witness-Expert 321 IV. Use of Witness Statements and Dépositions 324 A. Witness Statements 324 B. Dépositions 326 V. Conclusion EXPERT EVIDENCE 329 I. The Qualification of Experts 331 II. The Court's Appointment of Experts 332 III. Private Experts 334 A. Assessors 335 B. Experts Assisting with Judgments 336 C. The Use of Experts by the Court Without the Knowledge of the Parties 337 IV. Experts Appointed by the Parties 339 A. Experts Called to Give an Opinion to the Court 340 B. Experts Forming Part of the Délégation Distinction between counsel and experts forming part of the délégation 341 V. Technical and Scientific Evidence 343 VI. Case Studies 345 A. Qatar v Bahrain Case B. Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Case C. Cameroon v Nigeria Case The land boundary The maritime boundary Démarcation of the boundaries ongoing difficulties 351

9 xvi Contents VI. Considérations for the Future 352 A. Improving the Use of Expert Evidence 353 B. A Comparative Study Guyana v Suriname 354 C. An Alternative Viewpoint Recognizing the Limitations of the ICJ 356 VlII.Conclusion EVIDENCE IN PROCEEDINGS UNDER THE COURT'S ADVISORY JURISDICnON 359 I. The Advisory Function of the Court 360 A. The Court's Advisory Compétence 360 B. Origins and Purpose of the Advisory Jurisdiction The PCIJ and the introduction of an advisory function Transfer of the advisory function to the ICJ 362 H. Participation in Proceedings and the Production of Evidence 363 A. Requesting Entities: Organs and Agencies of the United Nations Evidentiary rôle of the requesting entity 364 B. Other Participants: States States as amici curiae 365 C. Other Participants: Inter-Governmental Organizations 365 D. Other Participants: Non-Governmental Organizations 366 E. Other Participants: Individuals Directly affected individuals Individual experts 368 F. Production of Evidence by the Court 369 III. Dispute Resolution under the Court's Advisory Jurisdiction 372 A. International Organizations and Disputes 372 B. Settlement of Disputes Directly Involving International Organizations 373 C. Settlement of Disputes Indirectly Involving International Organizations: 'Légal Questions Actually Pending Between States' Characterization of the advisory request Requests for guidance in the organization's own action Requests relating to 'légal questions actually pending between states' Composition of the Court: judges ad hoc 378 D. Appellate Review of International Administrative Disputes 378 IV. Procédural Aspects of Evidence in Advisory Cases 382

10 V. VI. Contents xvii A. Initiation of Proceedings: Request for an Advisory Opinion Submission of évidence: 'documents likely to throw light upon the question' Entitlement to appear and ability to furnish information B. Conduct of Written and Oral Proceedings 1. Written proceedings 2. Oral proceedings The Evaluation of Evidence in Advisory Proceedings A. The Duty of the Court B. 'No Burden of Proof ' C. 'Insufficiency of Information' D. Spécifie Findings of Fact and Standard of Proof Conclusion CONCLUSION I. n. ni. rv. Flexibility Sovereignty of the Parties and their Relationship with the Court Légal Traditions Recommendations for the Future

PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES FOR HEARINGS BEFORE THE MINING AND LANDS COMMISSIONER

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