ICJ Publishes Two Decisions in ICAO Council Jurisdiction Cases [1]
On July 14, 2020, the International Court of Justice published its judgment in the appeals relating to the jurisdiction of the Convention on International Civil Aviation [3] (ICAO) Council under Article II, Section 2, of the 1944 International Air Services Transit Agreement [4] (Bahrain, Egypt and United Arab Emirates v. Qatar [full judgment [5] and press release [6]]) and under Article 84 ICAO (Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates v. Qatar [full judgment [7] and press release [8]]). The Court unanimously rejected the appeals in both cases and held fifteen to one in each case that the ICAO Council has jurisdiction to hear the claims brought in both cases. As explained by the Court in its press releases for the case, the proceedings were brought after Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and adopted in June 2017 a number of restrictive measures against Qatar, including measures relating to aviation, as a result of Qatar’s alleged breach of its obligations under international agreements applicable between the states.