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UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001008 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNGA UNGA UNGA
SUBJECT: ICJ PRESIDENT SAYS UNEQUAL JUDGE SALARIES VIOLATE 
COURT'S STATUTE 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  President of the International Court of Justice 
(ICJ) Rosalyn Higgins delivered the ICJ's annual report to 
the General Assembly on November 1.  Higgins reviewed ICJ 
action on key cases and criticized UNGA resolution 61/262 
(Conditions of Service and Compensation for Officials other 
than Secretariat Officials: Members of the International 
Court of Justice and judges and ad litem judges of the ICTY 
and the ICTR) for creating differences which she said could 
place judges elected after January 1, 2007 in a position of 
"financial inferiority" in relation to their peers.  Higgins 
said the discrepancy in salaries undermined the fundamental 
principle of equality between judges and therefore violated 
the ICJ Statute.  Higgins also requested resources to hire 
nine P-2 level law clerks.  In response to Higgins's remarks, 
many delegations underscored their support for the ICJ.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) 
Judge Rosalyn Higgins presented the ICJ's report for the 
period August 1, 2006 through July 31, 2007 to the General 
Assembly (GA) on November 1.  Following Higgins's remarks, 18 
delegations delivered statements: New Zealand; Egypt; Peru; 
Pakistan; Algeria; Mexico; Malaysia; India; the Philippines; 
Nicaragua; Portugal; South Africa; Kenya; Sudan; Nigeria; 
Honduras; Korea; and Japan. 
 
¶3. Judge Higgins emphasized the efforts made in the last year 
to improve the ICJ's working methods.  Higgins noted that in 
the past 60 years the ICJ has delivered 94 judgments, 
one-third of which were delivered in the past ten years. 
Higgins said the ICJ now has 11 cases on its docket involving 
European, Latin American, African and Asian States. 
Furthermore, Higgins said, the ICJ has eliminated its case 
backlog ahead of the 2008 deadline set in 2006.  As a result, 
she added, States could now expect that as soon as their 
written exchanges have been completed, the Court would begin 
to hear oral arguments in a timely manner. 
 
¶4. Turning to her report, Higgins reviewed ICJ action on 
several noteworthy cases during the previous year.  The ICJ 
heard a landmark case on the application of the Convention on 
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 
brought by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and 
Montenegro, the first court case in which one State brought 
allegations of genocide against another.  The ICJ ruled that 
Serbia and Montenegro failed to meet their obligations under 
articles 1 and 5 of the Convention, and ordered Serbia and 
Montenegro immediately to comply with the Convention, 
transfer individuals accused of genocide to the International 
Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and cooperate fully 
with the tribunal. 
 
¶5. The ICJ took two decisions in the Pulp Mills on the River 
Uruguay case (Argentina v. Uruguay), initiated in 2006 by 
Argentina over the potential threat to the environment caused 
by two paper mills under construction in Uruguay.  Both 
parties asked the ICJ for provisional measures; Argentina 
based its request on the potential for transboundary harm 
caused by the construction of the paper mills, while Uruguay 
cited economic losses caused by Argentine protesters who 
interrupted the transport of building materials.  The ICJ 
rejected both requests and set a deadline of July 29, 2008 
for a second round of written pleadings. 
 
¶6. The ICJ also completed oral arguments in the case of 
Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Guinea v. the Democratic Republic of 
the Congo (DRC)), a Guinean businessman who, Guinean 
officials allege, was wrongfully imprisoned, stripped of his 
wealth and expelled from the DRC.  Considering the relevant 
law on diplomatic protection, the ICJ ruled that Guinea had 
grounds to address the Court and seek the protection of Mr. 
Diallo's individual rights and his rights as a shareholder, 
since Mr. Diallo exhausted all available legal remedies in 
the DRC.  Finally, Higgins said the ICJ completed hearings on 
case merits and oral arguments on preliminary objections in 
the territorial and maritime dispute between Nicaragua and 
Honduras.  A final judgment on this matter was forthcoming, 
Higgins added. 
 
¶7. On administrative issues, Higgins reported that 
"unfortunately" the ICJ was forced to spend more time than it 
wished on a matter "not of our choosing," referring to 
General Assembly resolution 61/262 (Conditions of Service and 
Compensation for Officials other than Secretariat Officials: 
Members of the International Court of Justice and judges and 
ad litem judges of the ICTY and the ICTR).  Higgins said that 
the resolution's effect of lowering the remuneration of 
judges elected after January 1, 2007 was unprecedented.  Due 
to the resolution, judges on the same bench would receive 
different salaries for the first time. 
 
¶8. Higgins argued the discrepancy in salaries undermined 
equality between judges, which she called a "fundamental" 
principle of the Court's Statute.  Higgins added that the 
Statute of the ICJ was an integral part of the UN Charter, 
"and is not to be ignored or put aside."  To illustrate her 
point, Higgins asked whether States would be satisfied if a 
judge presiding over their case was paid less than other 
judges.  Furthermore, Higgins asked if States really intended 
to put some judges in a position of "financial inferiority" 
when they adopted resolution 61/262.  Higgins also remarked 
that resolution 61/262 "ironically" has had a negative impact 
only on the ICJ, and has not addressed budget matters related 
to the ICTY and ICTR as originally intended. 
 
¶9. Changing topics, Higgins reiterated the ICJ's request for 
nine P-2 law clerks to assist judges.  Higgins justified the 
additional resources in light of the increasing number of 
fact-intensive cases and the need to research, analyze and 
evaluate diverse materials. 
 
¶10. In response to Higgins' remarks, delegations expressed 
their support for the ICJ's role as the principal judicial 
body of the UN and its role in peaceful dispute settlement. 
New Zealand noted the ICJ was moving beyond traditional 
dispute cases to subjects involving environmental concerns 
and human rights.  Nicaragua and Honduras praised the ICJ's 
objectivity and emphasized that the Presidents of both 
countries had agreed to respect the decision of the ICJ in 
their maritime delimitation dispute. 
 
¶11. As to judges' salaries, India, Nicaragua, and Honduras 
supported a review of the salary implications of resolution 
61/262.  India hoped the "unintended anomaly" could be 
removed.  Delegations were more vocal about the ICJ's request 
for additional law clerks.  Egypt, Mexico, Pakistan, 
Portugal, Nigeria, and Honduras said the request for nine law 
clerks was justified, given the ICJ's increasing workload. 
Mexico and Honduras said they would raise the ICJ's request 
in the Fifth Committee. 
 
¶12. South Africa emphasized the importance of encouraging 
developing States to utilize the Trust Fund to Assist States 
in Dispute Settlements through the ICJ and called for more 
contributions.  Malaysia, Sudan, and Peru also asked States 
to make contributions to the Fund. (NOTE: The 
Secretary-General reported that Member States contributed 
 
SIPDIS 
106,145 U.S. dollars to the Fund from July 1, 2006 through 
June 30, 2007.  The current balance of the Fund is 2,402,864 
U.S. dollars. END NOTE.). 
 
Khalilzad