Topics
United States of America v. Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro, Ecuador v. Colombia, and Belgium v. Senegal
Delegates in the International Court of Justice serve as either the prosecution or defense for their team’s case. Delegates will also participate in a jury, asking questions and deliberating the cases they are not representing. Delegates will be grouped into teams of four by delegation, and will work together to research their case, develop their arguments, and write a case brief, a legal document with a written argument submitted to the court. The research and brief will serve as a tool for the team to use to organize their arguments and win the jury’s votes.
Committee Type
Court
Committee Size
Small
Topic Intros
Belgium v. Senegal
In 1990, the oppressive and ruthless dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré, was overthrown and exiled. Senegal granted him political asylum. In 2009, Belgium sued Senegal in the ICJ for refusing to prosecute Habré for his violations of human rights (Habré was charged in Senegal in 2000 but the case was dismissed the next year).
United States of America v. Iran
On November 4,1979 in Tehran, Iranian militants seized the United States embassy, taking over 50 diplomatic and consular staff hostage; the U.S. sued Iran for violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations, violating the Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights and doing nothing to protect/prevent the embassy staff from the attack.
Ecuador v. Colombia
In this case, the Colombian government used aircrafts to spray toxic herbicides into coca and poppy plantations (used to make illegal cocaine and opium). However, much of the spraying was along its border with Ecuador, and strong winds continued to push the chemicals across the border. This caused crops, people, and animals in Ecuador to suffer, leading to the lawsuit.
Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro
In 1995 the Army of the Republika Srpska, VRS Army, invaded Srebrenica and killed thousands of Bosnian Muslims violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. However, this raises the challenging question of, can Serbia be held responsible for the massacre since it was not the direct Serbian government committing the massacre.
