Arbitration — Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission — Mandate — Applicable law — Boundary dispute — Delimitation — Interpretation of the Commission’s mandate — Commission required to delimit and demarcate the boundary — Treaty interpretation — Evidence — Maps

Territory — Land boundaries — Delimitation — Boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia — Delimitation by Boundary Commission — Prohibition from making decision ex aequo et bono — Rules of international law applicable to boundaries

Treaties — Interpretation of boundary treaty — Principles of interpretation — Good faith — Ordinary meaning — Object and purpose — Common will — Doctrine of “contemporaneity” — “Applicable international law” not limited to treaties but including rules applicable to boundaries — Subsequent conduct of the parties (effectivités) — Diplomatic and other similar exchanges and records — Acquiescence — Maps — Difference in legal consequences between maps annexed to treaty and those that are not — “Signature” of a map — Nature and effect of disclaimers

Rivers — River boundary — River boundaries follow the main channel of rivers — Main channel to be determined in dry season — Regard to the customary rights of the local people to have access to the river — Further determinations at the demarcation phase

Arbitration — Boundary dispute — Demarcation by the Boundary Commission — Interpretation of the Commission’s mandate — Non-cooperation of the Parties — Demarcation by a list of boundary points and coordinates — Demarcation suspended for twelve months unless Parties cooperate or reach agreement on pillar emplacement

Territory — Land boundaries — Boundary dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia — Demarcation — Non-cooperation of the Parties — Interpretation of the Commission’s mandate — Treaty interpretation — Demarcation by a list of boundary points and coordinates — Demarcation suspended for twelve months unless Parties cooperate or reach agreement on pillar emplacement — Use of modern techniques of image processing, terrain modelling and high-resolution aerial photography — Clarification of delimited boundary — “Environs” and “manifest impracticabilities”

Treaties — Principles of treaty interpretation — Agreement’s objective — Concept of institutional “effectiveness” — Requirement to fulfil Commission’s mandate — Meaning of “demarcation” as used in the work of Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Commission

Rivers — River boundary — River boundary to follow the middle of the main channel — Channel of greatest volume

International Court of Justice — Contentious jurisdiction — Jurisdiction under bilateral treaty — Iran-United States Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, 1955 — Disputes regarding interpretation and application of Treaty of Amity — Extent of jurisdiction conferred upon Court

International Court of Justice — Counter-claim — Iran-United States Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, 1955 — Admissibility of counter-claim — Rules of Court, Article 80 — Connection with original claim — Jurisdiction of Court

War and armed conflict — Use of force — Self-defence — Limitations on the right of self-defence — Requirement of an armed attack — Necessity and proportionality — Relationship of requirements with Treaty of Amity — Essential security interests

Economics, trade and finance — Iran-United States Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, 1955 — Freedom of commerce — Definition — Interpretation — Potential for future commerce — Indirect commerce

Treaties — Interpretation — Iran-United States Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, 1955 — Freedom of commerce and navigation — Engagement in commerce and navigation — Interpretation — Relationship between different provisions of treaty

International organizations — Administrative tribunal — Form of decisions — Loss of pension entitlements — Whether settlement of 20 November 2002 binding on International Energy Agency (“IEA”) — Validity of Governing Board decision of 3 April 2003 — Terms of appointment — Relevance of principle of good faith — Legal obligations — Whether IEA acting improperly — Whether moral injury to applicant — Whether Tribunal having jurisdiction to determine applicant’s principal and subsidiary claims

Aliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Political opinions — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Requirement of causal link between political persecution and flight — Extent to which post-flight circumstances may be taken into account — Distinction between objective and subjective post-flight circumstances — “Self-created” post-flight circumstances — Requirement that political opinions reflect firm conviction clearly manifested prior to departure from country of origin — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Aliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Religion — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Definition of refugees contained in Geneva Convention on Status of Refugees, 1951 — Whether religious persecution capable of constituting political persecution — Extent of religious persecution — State interference with practice of religious beliefs — Whether interference acceptable if limited to restrictions on public rather than private practice of beliefs — Whether such measures justified in order to preserve peace and public order

Human rights — Discrimination — Discrimination on religious grounds — Whether capable of constituting political persecution — Whether victims of such persecution entitled to asylum — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Aliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Political opinions — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Whether persecution attributable to “the State” if committed by State-like entities or third parties, where State unable or unwilling to provide protection — Nature of political persecution required to justify grant of asylum — Definition of refugee contained in Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Active political opposition to State — State interference with expression of political beliefs — Whether constituting persecution even where State thereby protecting its existence or political identity — Repressive measures taken by State to combat terrorism — Whether capable of constituting political persecution

Aliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Internal flight alternative — Whether legitimate ground for denial of asylum — Condition that alternative offers asylum seeker reasonable protection against persecution — Loss of effective territorial control by State — Whether persecution no longer capable of being attributed to the State

Terrorism — Measures to combat terrorism — Circumstances justifying repressive measures interfering with rights of individuals — Commission of atrocities or other very serious crimes — Active support for terrorist activities — Whether constituting bar to asylum claim — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Aliens — Refugees — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Procedure for dealing with claims — “Accelerated airport procedure” — Summary refusal of entry to asylum seekers where claim “manifestly unfounded” — General conditions for recourse to accelerated procedure — Specific procedural safeguards — Refusal of entry — Right to interim relief granting stay of enforcement only where “serious doubts” as to lawfulness of refusal of entry — Justification in public interest — Constitutionality — Basic Law of Federal Republic of Germany, Article 16a(4)

Human rights — Right to personal freedom — Detention of asylum seekers in transit area at international airport during “accelerated asylum procedure” — Whether violating right to equality — Procedural safeguards — Whether violating right to fair hearing — Whether asylum seeker entitled to notification of reasons for refusal of entry prior to its enforcement — Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Articles 2, 3(1), 103(1) and 104 — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Aliens — Refugees — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Exceptions — Safe country of origin rule — Constitutional provision for legislative designation of States as safe countries of origin — Such legislative designation creating presumption of absence of political persecution in those countries — Conditions for designation of country as safe — Requirement that application of European Convention on Human Rights, 1950, and Geneva Refugee Convention, 1951, assured — Requirement that no persecution nationwide — Whether internal flight alternative relevant — Asylum claims from countries designated as safe to be automatically rejected as manifestly unfounded in absence of rebuttal of presumption of absence of persecution — Standard of proof for rebuttal of presumption — Requirement of clearly substantiated evidence of individual circumstances involving risk of persecution of applicant rather than conditions obtaining generally — Scope of judicial review of legislative designation of safe country of origin — Whether role of courts limited to determining that designation based on proper grounds and not manifestly unreasonable — Whether safe country of origin rule compatible with Federal German Basic Law

Human rights — Inhuman or degrading treatment — Whether including torture — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950, Article 3 — Whether country imposing death penalty automatically excluded from being designated as safe country of origin for purposes of asylum law — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Aliens — Refugees — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Exceptions — Safe third country rule — Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Whether any binding rules under international law laying down minimum procedural requirements for determination of refugee status — Persons arriving from safe third countries — Automatic exclusion from right to asylum — Constitutional designation of all European Community Member States as “safe” — Provision for legislative designation of other third States as “safe” on condition that application of European Convention on Human Rights, 1950, and Geneva Refugee Convention, 1951, assured — Conclusive presumption that individual will be safe in designated “safe” States on basis of “normative certification” — Exclusion of examination on individual case-by-case basis — Exceptions only where compelling factual evidence of specific unusual risk to individual in third country concerned, sudden change of circumstances there or systematic infringement of principle of non-refoulement — Whether safe third country rule compatible with Federal German Basic Law

Aliens — Refugees — Non-refoulement — Primacy of international agreements over national law — Development of new international system of protection based on burden-sharing between participating States — Safe third country rule — Compatibility with principle of non-refoulement — Scope of principle of non-refoulement — Whether prohibiting deportation to State where individual at risk of onward deportation to persecuting State — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Aliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Political opinions — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Whether persecution must be attributable to the State — Whether sufficient that persecution emanates from State-like entity — Whether any requirement of organized and stable territorial authority — Disintegration of State authority during civil war — Whether party to civil war capable of committing political persecution within core territory over which its authority extends — Whether continuing external military threat necessarily excluding existence of internal State-like authority capable of committing persecution — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Territory — Acquisition — Modes — Settlement — Cession — Requirements — Validity — Justiciability before municipal courts — Pitcairn Island — History — Status as British possession — Application of English criminal law — The law of England