Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Request for advisory opinion) -

Conclusion of public hearings
Court ready to begin its deliberation

THE HAGUE, 25 February 2004. The public hearings in the case concerning the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (request for advisory opinion) concluded today.

At the hearings, held from 23 to 25 February 2004, the following oral statements were presented:

on behalf of Palestine, by: H.E. Mr. Nasser Al-Kidwa, Ambassador, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Head of Delegation; Ms Stephanie Koury, Member, Negotiations Support Unit, Counsel; Mr. James Crawford, Whewell Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge, Counsel and Advocate; Mr. Georges Abi-Saab, Professor of International Law, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Member of the Institute of International Law, Counsel and Advocate; Mr. Vaughan Lowe, Chichele Professor of International Law, University of Oxford, Counsel and Advocate; and Mr. Jean Salmon, Professor Emeritus of International Law, UniversitÃ© libre de Bruxelles, Member of the Institute of International Law, Counsel and Advocate;
on behalf of South Africa, by: H.E. Mr. Aziz Pahad, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Head of Delegation; Mr. M. R. W. Madlanga, Judge;
on behalf of Algeria, by: Mr. Ahmed Laraba, Professor of International Law;
on behalf of Saudi Arabia, by: H.E. Mr. Fawzi A. Shobokshi, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in New York, Head of Delegation;
on behalf of Bangladesh, by: H.E. Mr. Liaquat Ali Choudhury, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands;
on behalf of Belize, by: Mr. Jean-Marc Sorel, Professor at the UniversitÃ© de Paris 1 (PanthÃ©on-Sorbonne);
on behalf of Cuba, by: H.E. Mr. Abelardo Moreno FernÃ¡ndez, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs;
on behalf of Indonesia, by: H.E. Mr. Mohammad Jusuf, Ambassador the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Head of Delegation;
on behalf of Jordan, by: H.R.H. Ambassador Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Head of the Delegation and Permanent Representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations, New York; and Sir Arthur Watts, K.C.M.G., Q.C., Senior Legal Adviser to the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan;
on behalf of Madagascar, by: H.E. Mr. Alfred Rambeloson, Permanent Representative of Madagascar to the Office of the United Nations at Geneva and to the Specialized Agencies, Head of Delegation;
on behalf of Malaysia, by: H.E. Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Head of Delegation;
on behalf of Senegal, by: H.E. Mr. Saliou CissÃ©, Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Head of Delegation;
on behalf of the Sudan, by: H.E. Mr. Abuelgasim A. Idris, Ambassador of the Sudan to the Netherlands;
on behalf of the League of Arab States, by: Mr. Michael Bothe, Professor of Law, Head of the Legal Team;
on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, by: H.E. Mr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference; and Ms Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, Professor of Public Law, University of Paris VII-Denis Diderot, Counsel.

The Court will now start its deliberation. The date of the public sitting at which the Court will render its advisory opinion will be announced in a subsequent press release.

Information available on the Court’s website

To retrieve the video archive of the hearings which took place from 23 to 25 February 2004, please consult the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org). Click on “Video streaming of the public sittings of the Court” then select a particular half-day session. Names of delegations are indicated in brackets.

To consult the written transcripts of the oral statements, please click on “Link to the regular website of the Court” then on “Docket” and lastly on the hyperlink with the name of the case Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (request for advisory opinion). The transcripts can be found under “Oral Pleadings”.

For information on the history of the proceedings, please consult Press Release 2004/5 (click on “What’s new” then on “Latest press releases”).

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Information Department:

Mr. Arthur Witteveen,
First Secretary of the Court
tel: + 31 70 302 23 36

Mrs. Laurence Blairon and Mr. Boris Heim,
Information Officers
tel: + 31 70 302 23 37
E-mail address: information@icj-cij.org