Calls on all the Congolese Parties to engage fully in the National Dialogue process as provided for in the Ceasefire Agreement, and calls in particular on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to reaffirm its full commitment to the National Dialogue, to honour its obligations in this respect and to cooperate with the Facilitator designated with the assistance of the OAU and to allow for the full participation of political opposition and civil society groups in the dialogue; 10. Ugandan forces remained in Eastern Congo after Mr. Kabila became President in May 1997, again at his invitation. . Compliance with the Court's Order on Provisional Measures. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter"; 36. The withdrawal of troops, or the ending of support for irregular armed groups, are required not as consequences of a finding that Uganda has violated international law, but simply as measures preserving the rights of the Democratic Republic of the Congo until the Court is able to decide the dispute on the merits. the whole of Congolese territory"; and whereas it pointed out, moreover, that, under the Court's jurisprudence, "the existence of obligations whereby one or other Party agrees to put an immediate end to the acts underlying the request for the indication of provisional measures does not prevent the Court from acceding to that request"; 21. Advisory Opinion, 2004 I.C.J. Whereas the Court is in possession of information on the facts of this case, and in particular that contained in the above-mentioned Security Council resolution 1304 (2000) of 16 June 2000; whereas, however, the Court's duty at this stage of the proceedings is limited to examining whether the circumstances brought to its attention require the indication of provisional measures; and whereas it cannot make definitive findings of fact or of imputability, since the right of each of the Parties to submit arguments in respect of the merits must remain unaffected by the Court's decision; 42. 8. The Applicant in this case did not, in its Application, show us that both Parties had attempted to identify the legal disputes existing between them and to resolve those disputes by negotiation. 42), held that death and injury to persons are to be considered irreparable damage. . Judges ODA and KOROMA append declarations to the Order of the Court. Whereas, immediately upon receiving the text of the request for the indication of provisional measures, the Registrar transmitted a certified copy thereof to the Agent of Uganda, in accordance with Article 73, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Court; and whereas the Registrar also notified the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the filing of the request; 15. has been in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter"; and whereas it explained, with reference to "activities of armed bands operating from Congolese territory", that "[i]n responding to these threats to its territorial integrity and security, Uganda acted by virtue of Article 51 of the Charter"; 29. Whereas at the hearings Uganda stressed that "any action . All Rights Reserved.date: 09 October 2020. It is, accordingly, of special significance for the Parties, who should refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute, thereby preventing further harm to the population in the zone of conflict. Demands that all parties comply in particular with the provisions of Annex A, Chapter 12 of the Ceasefire Agreement relating to the normalization of the security situation along the borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with its neighbours; 13. 95);" (Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Provisional Measures, Order of 8 April 1993, I.C.J. 4. 1. The Order in no way prejudges the facts or the merits of the case. Calls also on all parties to ensure the safe and unhindered access of relief personnel to all those in need, and recalls that the parties must also provide guarantees for the safety, security and freedom of movement for United Nations and associated humanitarian relief personnel; 17. Whereas, independently of requests for the indication of provisional measures submitted by the parties to preserve specific rights, the Court possesses by virtue of Article 41 of the Statute the power to indicate provisional measures with a view to preventing the aggravation or extension of the dispute whenever it considers that circumstances so require (Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria, Provisional Measures, Order of 15 March 1996, I.C.J. The use of force by Uganda as an act of aggression, 2. relate to any conflict between Ugandan and Rwandan armed forces"; and whereas it asserted that "the [Congo's] request [fails to satisfy] the requirement of urgency or the risk of irreparable damage" and that there cannot "be an element of urgency after the Congo has waited for almost a year before making a complaint"; 30. . . La Constitution de l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 2. It is a principle that the Court's jurisdiction is founded on the consent of the States parties to the dispute and that declarations under the optional clause accepting the Court's compulsory jurisdiction may be made only if they arise from the bona fide will of the State. Whereas, by letters dated 19 June 2000, the President of the Court addressed the Parties in the following terms: "Acting in conformity with Article 74, paragraph 4, of the Rules of Court, I hereby draw the attention of both Parties to the need to act in such a way as to enable any Order the Court will make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects"; 16. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. . The Order must, therefore, be seen in the light of Article 59 of the Statute of the Court and Article 94 of the United Nations Charter. (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. . The Council has functions of a political nature assigned to it, whereas the Court exercises purely judicial functions. All Rights Reserved.date: 09 October 2020. Furthermore, in the present case, I note that a State appearing before the Court is not represented by a person holding high office in the Government acting as Agent, but by a private lawyer from another, highly developed, country. Whereas, by letter dated 20 June 2000, the Registrar informed the Parties that the Court had designated 26 June 2000 as the date for the opening of the hearings provided for in Article 74, paragraph 3, of the Rules of Court, at which they would have the opportunity to present their observations on the request for the indication of provisional measures; 17. Whereas on a request for the indication of provisional measures the Court need not, before deciding whether or not to indicate such measures, finally satisfy itself that it has jurisdiction on the merits of the case, yet it may not indicate them unless the provisions invoked by the Applicant appear, prima facie, to afford a basis on which the jurisdiction of the Court might be founded; 34. The jurisprudence of the Court shows that judgments rendered by the Court and provisional measures indicated by it in advance of the merits phase have not necessarily been complied with by the respondent States or by the parties. Whereas in the request for the indication of provisional measures the Congo argues that "each passing day causes to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its inhabitants grave and irreparable prejudice", and that it is "urgent that the rights of the Democratic Republic of the Congo be safeguarded in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the Court"; 12. Unilateral referral to the Court of acts of armed aggression in which a State is directly involved does not fall within the purview of Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Court's Statute. Whereas in that Application the Congo founds the jurisdiction of the Court on the declarations made by the two States under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute; 3. Whereas on 23 June 1999 the Registrar notified the Ugandan Government, by facsimile and by letter, of the filing of that Application, and a certified copy of the Application was transmitted to that Government; whereas, in accordance with Article 40, paragraph 3, of the Statute and Article 42 of the Rules of Court, copies of the Application were transmitted to the Members of the United Nations through the Secretary-General, as well as to the other States entitled to appear before the Court; and whereas, by an Order of 21 October 1999, the Court fixed 21 July 2000 and 21 April 2001 as the time-limits for the filing, respectively, of the Memorial of the Congo and the Counter-Memorial of Uganda; 9.