UN WORLD COURT SETS DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS ON KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE ISSUE

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' principal judicial organ, announced today that it will hold public hearings starting on 1 December on the question of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence early last year.

The UN and individual Member States will be able present oral statements and comments at the ICJ's headquarters in The Hague, as will the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) of Kosovo, which authored the declaration of independence from Serbia.

In October 2008 the General Assembly voted to request the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on the legality of the move by Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by about nine to one.

Some 36 Member States and the PISG have already filed written statements on the question, and they have until 15 September to indicate to the ICJ whether they wish to participate in the public hearings.

The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is tasked with settling legal disputes between UN Member States and with giving advisory opinions on legal questions.
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FORMER CHADIAN LEADER TO REMAIN IN SENEGAL PENDING FINAL RULING BY UN COURT

FORMER CHADIAN LEADER TO REMAIN IN SENEGAL PENDING FINAL RULING BY UN COURT
New York, May 28 2009 2:00PM
The United Nations International Court of Justice (<"http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=2&case=144&PHPSESSID=66df0eb20403f92383dc3ea447d6af5c">ICJ) today issued an <"http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/144/15149.pdf">order leaving former Chadian president Hissène Habré in the custody of Senegal, where he is under house arrest for alleged war crimes.

Belgium lodged a request to the ICJ in February to bar Mr. Habré, who has been accused in a Senegalese court of massive human rights abuses committed by his regime during the 1990s, from leaving Senegal while his trial is pending.

It had also sought to have him extradited to face charges in Belgium, citing among other things procedural delays in Senegal's handling of the case. For its part, Senegal had asked the Court to dismiss the Belgian filing, saying its judiciary is competent to carry out the prosecution.

In its order, the ICJ found that "there does not exist, in the circumstances of the present case, any urgency to justify" Belgium's bid.

However, the Court also stressed that today's order leaves unaffected Belgium's right to pursue the case should new facts emerge.

In addition, Senegal has given assurances it would not allow Mr. Habré, who has been living in house arrest for nearly 20 years, to leave the country pending a final ICJ ruling on the matter, noted the Court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands.

Mr. Habré ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, when he was overthrown and went into exile in Senegal, and it is alleged that during his rule thousands of Chadians were tortured and unlawful killings and other serious human rights violations took place.

Although he was charged in February 2000 by a lower court in Senegal's capital, Dakar, an appeals court later ruled that Senegalese courts did not have the legal competence to try such cases if they were perpetrated in another country.

But then in April 2008, Senegal's National Assembly adopted an amendment to the constitution that together with previous changes allowed the country's legal system to deal with such cases.
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