1. When proceedings before the Tribunal are instituted by means of an application, the application shall indicate the party making it, the party against which the claim is brought and the subject of the dispute.
2. The application shall specify as far as possible the legal grounds upon which the jurisdiction of the Tribunal is said to be based; it shall also specify the precise nature of the claim, together with a succinct statement of the facts and grounds on which the claim is based.
3. The original of the application shall be signed by the agent of the party submitting it or by the diplomatic representative of that party in the country in which the Tribunal has its seat or by some other duly authorized person. If the application bears the signature of someone other than such diplomatic representative, the signature must be authenticated by the latter or by the competent governmental authority.
4. The Registrar shall forthwith transmit to the respondent a certified copy of the application.
5. When the applicant proposes to found the jurisdiction of the Tribunal upon a consent thereto yet to be given or manifested by the party against which the application is made, the application shall be transmitted to that party. It shall not however be entered in the List of cases, nor any action be taken in the proceedings, unless and until the party against which such application is made consents to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for the purposes of the case.
1. When proceedings are brought before the Tribunal by the notification of a special agreement, the notification may be effected by the parties jointly or by any one or more of them. If the notification is not a joint one, a certified copy of it shall forthwith be communicated by the Registrar to any other party.
2. In each case the notification shall be accompanied by an original or certified copy of the special agreement. The notification shall also, in so far as this is not already apparent from the agreement, indicate the precise subject of the dispute and identify the parties to it.
1. Except in the circumstances contemplated by article 54, paragraph 5, all steps on behalf of the parties after proceedings have been instituted shall be taken by agents. Agents shall have an address for service at the seat of the Tribunal or in the capital of the country where the seat is located, to which all communications concerning the case are to be sent.
2. When proceedings are instituted by means of an application, the name of the agent for the applicant shall be stated. The respondent, upon receipt of the certified copy of the application, or as soon as possible thereafter, shall inform the Tribunal of the name of its agent.
3. When proceedings are brought by notification of a special agreement, the party or parties making the notification shall state the name of its agent or the names of their agents, as the case may be. Any other party to the special agreement, upon receiving from the Registrar a certified copy of such notification, or as soon as possible thereafter, shall inform the Tribunal of the name of its agent if it has not already done so.
1. Whenever proceedings are instituted on the basis of an agreement other than the Convention, the application or the notification shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the agreement in question.
2. In a dispute to which an international organization is a party, the Tribunal may, at the request of any other party or proprio motu, request the international organization to provide, within a reasonable time, information as to which, as between the organization and its member States, has competence in respect of any specific question which has arisen. If the Tribunal considers it necessary, it may suspend the proceedings until it receives such information.
In the event of a dispute as to whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction, the matter shall be decided by the Tribunal.
1. In the light of the views of the parties ascertained by the President of the Tribunal, the Tribunal shall make the necessary orders to determine, inter alia, the number and the order of filing of the pleadings and the time-limits within which they must be filed. The time-limits for each pleading shall not exceed six months.
2. The Tribunal may at the request of a party extend any time-limit or decide that any step taken after the expiration of the time-limit fixed therefor shall be considered as valid. It may not do so, however, unless it is satisfied that there is adequate justification for the request. In either case the other party shall be given an opportunity to state its views within a time-limit to be fixed by the Tribunal.
3. If the Tribunal is not sitting, its powers under this article may be exercised by the President of the Tribunal, but without prejudice to any subsequent decision of the Tribunal.
1. The pleadings in a case begun by means of an application shall consist, in the following order, of: a memorial by the applicant and a counter-memorial by the respondent.
2. The Tribunal may authorize or direct that there shall be a reply by the applicant and a rejoinder by the respondent if the parties are so agreed or if the Tribunal decides, at the request of a party or proprio motu, that these pleadings are necessary.
1. In a case begun by the notification of a special agreement, the number and order of the pleadings shall be governed by the provisions of the agreement, unless the Tribunal, after ascertaining the views of the parties, decides otherwise.
2. If the special agreement contains no such provision, and if the parties have not subsequently agreed on the number and order of pleadings, they shall each file a memorial and counter-memorial, within the same time-limits.
3. The Tribunal shall not authorize the presentation of replies and rejoinders unless it finds them to be necessary.
1. A memorial shall contain: a statement of the relevant facts, a statement of law and the submissions.
2. A counter-memorial shall contain: an admission or denial of the facts stated in the memorial; any additional facts, if necessary; observations concerning the statement of law in the memorial; a statement of law in answer thereto; and the submissions.
3. A reply and rejoinder shall not merely repeat the parties' contentions, but shall be directed to bringing out the issues that still divide them.
4. Every pleading shall set out the party's submissions at the relevant stage of the case, distinctly from the arguments presented, or shall confirm the submissions previously made.
1. There shall be annexed to the original of every pleading certified copies of any relevant documents adduced in support of the contentions contained in the pleading. Parties need not annex or certify copies of documents which have been published and are readily available to the Tribunal and the other party.
2. If only parts of a document are relevant, only such extracts as are necessary for the purpose of the pleading in question or for identifying the document need be annexed. A copy of the whole document shall be filed in the Registry, unless it has been published and is readily available to the Tribunal and the other party.
3. A list of all documents annexed to a pleading shall be furnished at the time the pleading is filed.
1. The parties shall submit any pleading or any part of a pleading in one or both of the official languages.
2. A party may use a language other than one of the official languages for its pleadings. A translation into one of the official languages, certified as accurate by the party submitting it, shall be submitted together with the original of each pleading.
3. When a document annexed to a pleading is not in one of the official languages, it shall be accompanied by a translation into one of these languages certified as accurate by the party submitting it. The translation may be confined to part of an annex, or to extracts therefrom, but in this case it must be accompanied by an explanatory note indicating what passages are translated. The Tribunal may, however, require a more extensive or a complete translation to be furnished.
4. When a language other than one of the official languages is chosen by the parties and that language is an official language of the United Nations, the decision of the Tribunal shall, at the request of any party, be translated into that official language of the United Nations at no cost for the parties.
1. The original of every pleading shall be signed by the agent and filed in the Registry. It shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the pleading, any document annexed thereto and any translations, for communication to the other party. It shall also be accompanied by the number of additional copies required by the Registry; further copies may be required should the need arise later.
2. All pleadings shall be dated. When a pleading has to be filed by a certain date, it is the date of receipt of the pleading in the Registry which will be regarded by the Tribunal as the material date.
3. If the Registrar arranges for the reproduction of a pleading at the request of a party, the text must be supplied in sufficient time to enable the pleading to be filed in the Registry before expiration of any time-limit which may apply to it. The reproduction is done under the responsibility of the party in question.
4. The correction of a slip or error in any document which has been filed may be made at any time with the consent of the other party or by leave of the President of the Tribunal. Any correction so effected shall be notified to the other party in the same manner as the pleading to which it relates.
A certified copy of every pleading and any document annexed thereto produced by one party shall be communicated by the Registrar to the other party upon receipt.
1. Copies of the pleadings and documents annexed thereto shall, as soon as possible after their filing, be made available by the Tribunal to a State or other entity entitled to appear before the Tribunal and which has asked to be furnished with such copies. However, if the party submitting the memorial so requests, the Tribunal shall make the memorial available at the same time as the counter-memorial.
2. Copies of the pleadings and documents annexed thereto shall be made accessible to the public on the opening of the oral proceedings, or earlier if the Tribunal or the President if the Tribunal is not sitting so decides after ascertaining the views of the parties.
3. However, the Tribunal, or the President if the Tribunal is not sitting, may, at the request of a party, and after ascertaining the views of the other party, decide otherwise than as set out in this article.
After the closure of the written proceedings and prior to the opening of the oral proceedings, the Tribunal shall meet in private to enable judges to exchange views concerning the written pleadings and the conduct of the case.
1. Upon the closure of the written proceedings, the date for the opening of the oral proceedings shall be fixed by the Tribunal. Such date shall fall within a period of six months from the closure of the written proceedings unless the Tribunal is satisfied that there is adequate justification for deciding otherwise. The Tribunal may also decide, when necessary, that the opening or the continuance of the oral proceedings be postponed.
2. When fixing the date for the opening of the oral proceedings or postponing the opening or continuance of such proceedings, the Tribunal shall have regard to:
(a) the need to hold the hearing without unnecessary delay;
(b) the priority required by articles 90 and 112;
(c) any special circumstances, including the urgency of the case or other cases on the List of cases; and
(d) the views expressed by the parties.
3. When the Tribunal is not sitting, its powers under this article shall be exercised by the President.
The Tribunal may, if it considers it desirable, decide pursuant to article 1, paragraph 3, of the Statute that all or part of the further proceedings in a case shall be held at a place other than the seat of the Tribunal. Before so deciding, it shall ascertain the views of the parties.
1. After the closure of the written proceedings, no further documents may be submitted to the Tribunal by either party except with the consent of the other party or as provided in paragraph 2. The other party shall be held to have given its consent if it does not lodge an objection to the production of the document within 15 days of receiving it.
2. In the event of objection, the Tribunal, after hearing the parties, may authorize production of the document if it considers production necessary.
3. The party desiring to produce a new document shall file the original or a certified copy thereof, together with the number of copies required by the Registry, which shall be responsible for communicating it to the other party and shall inform the Tribunal.
4. If a new document is produced under paragraph 1 or 2, the other party shall have an opportunity of commenting upon it and of submitting documents in support of its comments.
5. No reference may be made during the oral proceedings to the contents of any document which has not been produced as part of the written proceedings or in accordance with this article, unless the document is part of a publication readily available to the Tribunal and the other party.
6. The application of this article shall not in itself constitute a ground for delaying the opening or the course of the oral proceedings.
Without prejudice to the provisions of these Rules concerning the production of documents, each party shall communicate to the Registrar, in sufficient time before the opening of the oral proceedings, information regarding any evidence which it intends to produce or which it intends to request the Tribunal to obtain. This communication shall contain a list of the surnames, first names, nationalities, descriptions and places of residence of the witnesses and experts whom the party intends to call, with indications of the point or points to which their evidence will be directed. A certified copy of the communication shall also be furnished for transmission to the other party.
1. The Tribunal shall determine whether the parties should present their arguments before or after the production of the evidence; the parties shall, however, retain the right to comment on the evidence given.
2. The Tribunal, after ascertaining the views of the parties, shall determine the order in which the parties will be heard, the method of handling the evidence and examining any witnesses and experts and the number of counsel and advocates to be heard on behalf of each party.
The hearing shall, in accordance with article 26, paragraph 2, of the Statute, be public, unless the Tribunal decides otherwise or unless the parties request that the public be not admitted. Such a decision or request may concern either the whole or part of the hearing, and may be made at any time.
1. The oral statements made on behalf of each party shall be as succinct as possible within the limits of what is requisite for the adequate presentation of that party's contentions at the hearing. Accordingly, they shall be directed to the issues that still divide the parties, and shall not go over the whole ground covered by the pleadings or merely repeat the facts and arguments these contain.
2. At the conclusion of the last statement made by a party at the hearing, its agent, without recapitulation of the arguments, shall read that party's final submissions. A copy of the written text of these, signed by the agent, shall be communicated to the Tribunal and transmitted to the other party.
1. The Tribunal may at any time prior to or during the hearing indicate any points or issues which it would like the parties specially to address, or on which it considers that there has been sufficient argument.
2. The Tribunal may, during the hearing, put questions to the agents, counsel and advocates, and may ask them for explanations.
3. Each judge has a similar right to put questions, but before exercising it he should make his intention known to the President of the Tribunal.
4. The agents, counsel and advocates may answer either immediately or within a time-limit fixed by the President of the Tribunal.
1. The Tribunal may at any time call upon the parties to produce such evidence or to give such explanations as the Tribunal may consider to be necessay for the elucidation of any aspect of the matter in issue, or may itself seek other information for this purpose.
2. The Tribunal may, if necessary, arrange for the attendance of a witness or expert to give evidence in the proceedings.
1. The parties may call any witnesses or experts appearing on the list communicated to the Tribunal pursuant to article 72. If at any time during the hearing a party wishes to call a witness or expert whose name was not included in that list, it shall make a request therefor to the Tribunal and inform the other party, and shall supply the information required by article 72. The witness or expert may be called either if the other party raises no objection or, in the event of objection, if the Tribunal so authorizes after hearing the other party.
2. The Tribunal may, at the request of a party or proprio motu, decide that a witness or expert be examined otherwise than before the Tribunal itself. The President of the Tribunal shall take the necessary steps to implement such a decision.
Unless on account of special circumstances the Tribunal decides on a different form of words,
(a) every witness shall make the following solemn declaration before giving any evidence:
"I solemnly declare upon my honour and conscience that I will speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth";
(b) every expert shall make the following solemn declaration before making any statement:
"I solemnly declare upon my honour and conscience that I will speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and that my statement will be in accordance with my sincere belief".
Witnesses and experts shall, under the control of the President of the Tribunal, be examined by the agents, counsel or advocates of the parties starting with the party calling the witness or expert. Questions may be put to them by the President of the Tribunal and by the judges. Before testifying, witnesses and experts other than those appointed under article 289 of the Convention shall remain out of court.
The Tribunal may at any time decide, at the request of a party or proprio motu, to exercise its functions with regard to the obtaining of evidence at a place or locality to which the case relates, subject to such conditions as the Tribunal may decide upon after ascertaining the views of the parties. The necessary arrangements shall be made in accordance with article 52.
1. If the Tribunal considers it necessary to arrange for an inquiry or an expert opinion, it shall, after hearing the parties, issue an order to this effect, defining the subject of the inquiry or expert opinion, stating the number and mode of appointment of the persons to hold the inquiry or of the experts and laying down the procedure to be followed. Where appropriate, the Tribunal shall require persons appointed to carry out an inquiry, or to give an expert opinion, to make a solemn declaration.
2. Every report or record of an inquiry and every expert opinion shall be communicated to the parties, which shall be given the opportunity of commenting upon it.
Witnesses and experts who appear at the instance of the Tribunal under article 77, paragraph 2, and persons appointed by the Tribunal under article 82, paragraph 1, to carry out an inquiry or to give an expert opinion, shall, where appropriate, be paid out of the funds of the Tribunal.
1. The Tribunal may, at any time prior to the closure of the oral proceedings, at the request of a party or proprio motu, request an appropriate intergovernmental organization to furnish information relevant to a case before it. The Tribunal, after consulting the chief administrative officer of the organization concerned, shall decide whether such information shall be presented to it orally or in writing and fix the time-limits for its presentation.
2. When such an intergovernmental organization sees fit to furnish, on its own initiative, information relevant to a case before the Tribunal, it shall do so in the form of a memorial to be filed in the Registry before the closure of the written proceedings. The Tribunal may require such information to be supplemented, either orally or in writing, in the form of answers to any questions which it may see fit to formulate, and also authorize the parties to comment, either orally or in writing, on the information thus furnished.
3. Whenever the construction of the constituent instrument of such an intergovernmental organization or of an international convention adopted thereunder is in question in a case before the Tribunal, the Registrar shall, on the instructions of the Tribunal, or of the President if the Tribunal is not sitting, so notify the intergovernmental organization concerned and shall communicate to it copies of all the written proceedings. The Tribunal, or the President if the Tribunal is not sitting, may, as from the date on which the Registrar has communicated copies of the written proceedings and after consulting the chief administrative officer of the intergovernmental organization concerned, fix a time-limit within which the organization may submit to the Tribunal its observations in writing. These observations shall be communicated to the parties and may be discussed by them and by the representative of the said organization during the oral proceedings.
4. In the foregoing paragraphs, "intergovernmental organization" means an intergovernmental organization other than any organization which is a party or intervenes in the case concerned.
1. Unless the Tribunal decides otherwise, all speeches and statements made and evidence given at the hearing in one of the official languages of the Tribunal shall be interpreted into the other official language. If they are made or given in any other language, they shall be interpreted into the two official languages of the Tribunal.
2. Whenever a language other than an official language is used, the necessary arrangements for interpretation into one of the official languages shall be made by the party concerned. The Registrar shall make arrangements for the verification of the interpretation provided by a party at the expense of that party. In the case of witnesses or experts who appear at the instance of the Tribunal, arrangements for interpretation shall be made by the Registrar.
3. A party on behalf of which speeches or statements are to be made, or evidence given, in a language which is not one of the official languages of the Tribunal shall so notify the Registrar in sufficient time for the necessary arrangements to be made, including verification.
4. Before entering upon their duties in the case, interpreters provided by a party shall make the following solemn declaration:
"I solemnly declare upon my honour and conscience that my interpretation will be faithful and complete".
1. Minutes shall be made of each hearing. For this purpose, a verbatim record shall be made by the Registrar of every hearing, in the official language or languages of the Tribunal used during the hearing. When another language is used, the verbatim record shall be prepared in one of the official languages of the Tribunal.
2. In order to prepare such a verbatim record, the party on behalf of which speeches or statements are made in a language which is not one of the official languages shall supply to the Registry in advance a text thereof in one of the official languages.
3. The transcript of the verbatim record shall be preceded by the names of the judges present, and those of the agents, counsel and advocates of the parties.
4. Copies of the transcript shall be circulated to the judges sitting in the case and to the parties. The latter may, under the supervision of the Tribunal, correct the transcripts of speeches and statements made on their behalf, but in no case may such corrections affect the meaning and scope thereof. The judges may likewise make corrections in the transcript of anything they have said.
5. Witnesses and experts shall be shown that part of the transcript which relates to the evidence given or the statements made by them, and may correct it in like manner as the parties.
6. One certified copy of the corrected transcript, signed by the President of the Tribunal and the Registrar, shall constitute the authentic minutes of the hearing. The minutes of public hearings shall be printed and published by the Tribunal.
Any written reply by a party to a question put under article 76 or any evidence or explanation supplied by a party under article 77 received by the Tribunal after the closure of the oral proceedings shall be communicated to the other party, which shall be given the opportunity of commenting upon it. The oral proceedings may be reopened for that purpose, if necessary.
1. When, subject to the control of the Tribunal, the agents, counsel and advocates have completed their presentation of the case, the President of the Tribunal shall declare the oral proceedings closed. The agents shall remain at the disposal of the Tribunal.
2. The Tribunal shall withdraw to consider the judgment.