Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 103 views

    Case Digest of The Corfu Channel Case

    Uploaded by

    Kukuruu
    The Corfu Channel Case involved two incidents in 1946 where British warships were damaged by mines in Albanian territorial waters. The UK argued it had a right of innocent passage, while Albania argued its sovereignty was violated. The International Court of Justice ruled that [1] Albania was responsible under international law for the mine explosions and damage caused, as it had knowledge of the minefields; [2] the first passage of British ships was innocent but the later minesweeping operation violated Albania's sovereignty; and [3] the UK was entitled to compensation from Albania for its losses.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Case Digest of The Corfu Channel Case

    Uploaded by

    Kukuruu
    103 views4 pages
    The Corfu Channel Case involved two incidents in 1946 where British warships were damaged by mines in Albanian territorial waters. The UK argued it had a right of innocent passage, while Albania argued its sovereignty was violated. The International Court of Justice ruled that [1] Albania was responsible under international law for the mine explosions and damage caused, as it had knowledge of the minefields; [2] the first passage of British ships was innocent but the later minesweeping operation violated Albania's sovereignty; and [3] the UK was entitled to compensation from Albania for its losses.

    Original Title

    Case digest of the Corfu Channel Case

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The Corfu Channel Case involved two incidents in 1946 where British warships were damaged by mines in Albanian territorial waters. The UK argued it had a right of innocent passage, while Albania argued its sovereignty was violated. The International Court of Justice ruled that [1] Albania was responsible under international law for the mine explosions and damage caused, as it had knowledge of the minefields; [2] the first passage of British ships was innocent but the later minesweeping operation violated Albania's sovereignty; and [3] the UK was entitled to compensation from Albania for its losses.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    103 views4 pages

    Case Digest of The Corfu Channel Case

    Uploaded by

    Kukuruu
    The Corfu Channel Case involved two incidents in 1946 where British warships were damaged by mines in Albanian territorial waters. The UK argued it had a right of innocent passage, while Albania argued its sovereignty was violated. The International Court of Justice ruled that [1] Albania was responsible under international law for the mine explosions and damage caused, as it had knowledge of the minefields; [2] the first passage of British ships was innocent but the later minesweeping operation violated Albania's sovereignty; and [3] the UK was entitled to compensation from Albania for its losses.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    The Corfu Channel Case

    DOCTRINES IN THE CASE

    1. Principle of State Responsibility


    ILC Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, 2001
    Article l- Responsibility of a State for its internationally wrongful acts
    “Every internationally wrongful act of a State entails the international responsibility of that
    State.”

    2. Concept of Right to Innocent Passage


    Article 17-19 of the UNCLOS III (1982)
    Article 17
    Right of innocent passage
    Subject to this Convention, ships of all States, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the
    right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.

    Article 18
    Meaning of passage
    1. Passage means navigation through the territorial sea for the purpose of:
    (a) traversing that sea without entering internal waters or calling at a roadstead or port
    facility outside internal waters; or
    (b) proceeding to or from internal waters or a call at such roadstead or port facility.
    2. Passage shall be continuous and expeditious. However, passage includes stopping
    and anchoring, but only in so far as the same are incidental to ordinary navigation or are
    rendered necessary by force majeure or distress or for the purpose of rendering
    assistance to persons, ships or aircraft in danger or distress.

    Article 19
    Defines Innocent Passage “Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the
    peace, good order or security of the coastal State.”

    3. Principle of Non-Interference
    Article 8 of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, 1933 states,
    “No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another.”

    4. Principle of Equal Sovereignty


    Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, 1945 states that,
    “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force
    against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other
    manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

    Article 4 of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, 1933 states
    that,
    “Article 4. States are juridically equal, enjoy the same rights, and have equal capacity in
    their exercise. The rights of each one do not depend upon the power which it possesses
    to assure its exercise, but upon the simple fact of its existence as a person under
    international law.”

    Facts of the Case


    On May 15th 1946 the British naval warships went across the Corfu Channel
    without the permission of the Albanian government and were fired upon by Albanian
    coastal batteries. Afterwards, on October 22nd, 1946, a fleet of British warships (two
    cruisers and two destroyers), left the port of Corfu and advanced northward through a
    channel previously swept for mines in the North Corfu Strait. Both destroyers were struck
    by a mine and were heavily damaged. This occurrence resulted in many human deaths
    and severe injuries. The two ships were mined in Albanian territorial waters in a previously
    swept and check-swept channel. After the mining accident of 22nd October, the United
    Kingdom Government sent a note to the Albanian Government. The note asserted the UK
    government’s intention to sweep the Corfu Channel shortly. Concurrently, at the United
    Kingdom Government’s request, the International Central Mine Clearance Board decided,
    in a resolution of November 1st, 1946, that there should be a further sweep of the
    Channel, subject to Albania’s consent. London received the reply of the note from the
    Albanian government on 31st October. It expressed that the Albanian Government would
    not give its consent to mine sweeping unless the operation in question took place outside
    Albanian territorial waters. The Albanian government directly expressed that any
    minesweeping carried on without the permission of the Albanian Government inside
    Albanian territorial waters will be regarded as a deliberate violation of Albanian
    sovereignty and territory. On 12th and 13th November of 1946 the British Royal Navy
    launched ‘Operation Retail’ and carried out the minesweeping against the wishes of the
    Albanian Government. This case was brought before the Court on May 22nd, 1947, by
    an Application filed by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
    Northern Ireland instituting proceedings against the Government of the People’s Republic
    of Albania.

    Issues of the Corfu Channel Case and Analysis of Corfu Channel Case

    1. Whether Albania is responsible under international law for the mine explosions which
    occurred on the 22nd October, 1946 in Albanian waters and for the damage of machinery
    and loss of human lives which resulted due to it?
    1) Yes, Albania as a state has a responsibility not to breach international law. This
    responsibility originates from well-recognized principles of humanity which were even
    more onerous in time of peace than in war, from the principle of freedom of maritime
    communication, and from the obligation of all states not to knowingly allow their territory
    to be used contrary to the rights of other states. The Albanian Government had full
    knowledge about the mines and it had state responsibility to inform other states about the
    existence of the minefields. The Albanian government had the duty under international
    law to inform the ships approaching about the danger.

    2. Whether the United Kingdom has violated the sovereignty of Albania by reason of
    minesweeping operation without consent of the Albanian Government?
    2) Yes, The UK argued that the passage on October 22nd, 1946 was innocent and that
    according to rules of international law it had the ‘right to innocent passage’ through the
    North Corfu Channel as it is regarded as a part of international highways and does not
    need a prior permission of the territorial state. The North Corfu Channel must be viewed
    as belonging to the ‘class of international highways’ across which an innocent passage
    does not need special permission and cannot be restricted by a coastal State in time of
    peace. But Albania was at war with Greece at that time which means that the coastal
    state was not in time of peace. But the UK violated the territorial sovereignty of Albania
    by launching Operation Retail without its consent.

    3. Whether the United Kingdom is entitled to compensation for the loss suffered?
    3) Yes, The United Kingdom has suffered tremendous loss of machinery and human lives
    due to the explosion of mines in the Albanian waters. The damages suffered by the UK
    were directly caused by the mine explosions. As a subject of international law, the United
    Kingdom has a right to claim compensation from Albania for violation of international law.
    Thus, there is a duty upon Albania to pay compensation to the United Kingdom.

    Conclusion
    The Court held that Albania was responsible under international law for the mine
    explosions in Corfu channel that had taken place in Albanian territorial waters and for the
    damage and loss of life which had occurred. The court gives judgement that the United
    Kingdom did not breach the sovereignty of Albania due to the acts of the British Royal
    Navy in Albanian waters on October 22nd, 1946. However, when the British Royal Navy
    launched the operation for minesweeping in November 1946, it violated the sovereignty
    of Albania. This operation did not have the permission of international mine clearance
    organizations, could not be justified as the exercise of a right of innocent passage, and
    international law prohibits a state to assemble a fleet in the territorial waters of another
    state and to carry out mine-sweeping in those waters. In a third judgement, rendered on
    15 December 1949, the Court calculated the amount of reparation owed to the United
    Kingdom and ordered Albania to pay £844,000.

    You might also like