13 Jul ICJ Rejects Argentina’s Request for Provisional Measures
The International Court of Justice has rejected Argentina’s request for an indication of provisional measures suspending Uruguay’s construction of a pulp mill upstream on the River Uruguay. The Court concluded that:
[t]here is nothing in the record to demonstrate that the actual decision by Uruguay to authorize the construction of the mills poses an imminent threat of irreparable damage to the aquatic environment of the River Uruguay or to the economic and social interests of the riparian inhabitants on the Argentine side of the river.
A full summary of the Court’s order can be found here. Kudos to the ICJ for relatively quick work here. The original application was filed on May 4, 2006, hearings were held in early June and the judgment was issued July 13. This is pretty fast work for the ICJ.
Where does this case go from here? Well, expect the case to drag on for a number of years while Argentina and Uruguay continue to posture and haggle.
‘Kudos to the ICJ’ from Julian G. Ku? Now that’s a surprise.
But not such a great one, as there is some criticism in the last sentence, according to which we are to expect that the case will ‘drag on for a numer of years’.
That’s really not as likely in this case as in many others: the fact that the Court did not find it necessary to indicate provisional measures suggests that the Court has every intention of delivering its judgment on the merits as soon as possible. It is for that reason that the dangers to the Argentine interests are not sufficiently imminent to warrant action by the Court before the merits judgment.
This also accords with the preferred style of the Court’s new President, Dame Rosalyn Higgins, which is, of course, a matter of public record.