Case Concerning the Continental Shelf (Tunisia/Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) Application By Malta for Permission to Intervene

Abstract

International law in general — Nature and binding force — Judicial decisions — International Court of Justice — Effect upon States not party to a case

International law in general — Sources — Judicial decisions — International Court of Justice — Value of reasoning in decision as source of international law — Decision on relevance of local and regional factors — Relevance for States not party to the decision — Whether a State interested in these factors entitled to intervene in case

State territory — Parts of State territory — Territorial waters — Breadth and delimitation of the maritime belt — Baselines — Dispute between two adjacent States before International Court of Justice — Possible relevance of decision for claims of proximate State not party to case — Importance of Court’s analysis of local and regional factors

State territory — Parts of State territory — Continental shelf Dispute concerning delimitation of continental shelf before International Court of Justice — Possible relevance of decision for claims of proximate State not party to case — Importance of Court's analysis of local and regional factors

Treaties — Interpretation — Bilingual treaties — Statute of the International Court of Justice — Treaty mainly drafted in French — Significance of English text and its drafting history

Treaties — Interpretation — Consideration of preparatory work — Statute of the International Court of Justice

Disputes — International Court of Justice — Organization of the Court — Judges ad hoc — Whether State applying for permission to intervene entitled to nominate judge ad hoc — Whether original parties to be treated as acting in same interest for the purpose of intervention proceedings — Statute of the International Court of Justice, Article 31, paragraphs 3 and 5

Disputes — International Court of Justice — Contentious jurisdiction — Procedure — Application for permission to intervene — Statute of the International Court of Justice, Article 62 — Requirement that intervener show an interest of a legal nature which might be affected by decision — Scope of requirement — Whether including interest in Court’s reasoning and use of legal principles — Intervenor interested in Court’s analysis of local and regional factors relevant to delimitation of continental shelf — Nature of decision of the Court — Statute of the International Court of Justice, Article 59 — Nature of intervention — Whether equivalent to third party procedure — Whether permissible for State to intervene in order to present legal arguments without submitting its own claims to the decision of the Court Whether jurisdictional link between intervening State and original parties needed

Treaties — Interpretation — Bilingual treaties — Relevance of preparatory work — Treaty drafted primarily in one language Relevance of text in the other language

Organization of the International Court — Role of judges ad hoc — Whether State applying for permission to intervene entitled to nominate judge ad hoc — Whether original parties to be treated as acting in same interest for purpose of intervention proceedings