Provisional measures hearings scheduled in the Preah Vihear Temple Bis case

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold public hearings on Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 May 2011 in the case concerning the Request for  Interpretation of the Judgment of 15 June 1962 in the Case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand) (Cambodia v. Thailand). These hearings concern the request for the indication of provisional measures filed by Cambodia on 28 April 2011. According to Rule 74(1) of the Rules of Court provisional measures procedures take priority over other cases. As mentioned in my previous post, this case was brought by Cambodia on the basis of Article 60 of the Statute of the Court (stating: ‘The judgment is final and without appeal. In the event of dispute as to the meaning or scope of the judgment, the Court shall construe it upon the request of any party.’) and Article 98 of the Rules of the Court (stating: ‘In the event of dispute as to the meaning or scope of a judgment any party may make a request for its interpretation, whether the original proceedings were begun by an application or by the notification of a special agreement.’).

Talks between the prime ministers of the two countries held on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit on 8 May 2011, with Indonesia acting as a mediator, failed to produce any results. Many soldiers have been killed since February 2011 when clashes erupted in the disputed area around the Preah Vihear temple and tens of thousands of villagers have fled the fighting area.

This is the eighth case in which provisional measures orders are requested in a situation which involves ongoing armed hostilities. There have been several border skirmishes between the parties, so it remains to be seen how the Court is going to evaluate this situation.

The schedule for the hearings is as follows:

– First round of oral observations

Monday 30 May 2011  10 a.m.-12 noon:  (Cambodia)

4 p.m.-6 p.m.:  (Thailand)

– Second round of oral observations

Tuesday 31 May 2011  10.30 a.m.-11.30 a.m.:  (Cambodia)

5 p.m.-6 p.m.:  (Thailand)

If you want to register for attending the hearings at the Peace Palace in The Hague you can do so online by filling out a form here.