Heute hat der Internationale Gerichtshof seine Rechtsmeinung zu Chagos-Archipel abgegeben. Das Eingangsstatement gab eine Antwort auf eine klassische Prüfungsfrage – muss der IGH Gutachten erstellen, wenn er von der Generalversammlung gebeten wird?
Kurze Antwort: nein. Aus triftigen Gründen kann der IGH eine Gutachtenanfrage zurückweisen. Das Eingangsstatement (verlesen von IGH-Richter Yusuf) im Chagos-Gutachten entsprach dem, was der IGH bereits 2004 im Mauerbau-Gutachten zu Israel und Palästina dazu gesagt hat:
The Court recalled that Article 65, paragraph 1, of its Statute “should be interpreted to mean that the Court retains a discretionary power to decline to give an advisory opinion even if the conditions of jurisdiction are met.” The Court defended, however, that its answer to a request for an advisory opinion “represents its participation in the activities of the Organization, and, in principle, should not be refused”. Therefore, the Court came to the conclusion that “given its responsibilities as the ‘principal judicial organ of the United Nations’, the Court should in principle not decline to give an advisory opinion, and only “compelling reasons” should lead the Court to do so.”
Continuing on the issue of its discretionary power to exercise jurisdiction, the Court stated that although Israel has not consented to the exercise of that jurisdiction and the question posed before the Court concerns a contentious matter between Israel and Palestine, “the lack of consent to the Court’s contentious jurisdiction by interested States has no bearing on the Court’s jurisdiction to give an advisory opinion.”
Ralph Janik 