World Court Digest

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III.	The International Court of Justice
1.	FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
1.4.	Political Questions/ Determination of the Existence of a Dispute

¤ Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo
(Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda),
Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures,
Order of 1 July 2000

[p. Decl. Oda]4. The mere allegation by the Applicant that there has been "armed aggression" perpetrated by the Respondent in its territory does not mean that legal disputes exist between these Parties concerning (i) the alleged breach of the Applicant's rights by the Respondent or the alleged failure of the Respondent to observe its international legal obligations to the Applicant, and (ii) the denial by the Respondent of the Applicant's allegations.

The Applicant in this case did not, in its Application, show us that both Parties had attempted to identify the legal disputes existing between them and to resolve those disputes by negotiation. Without such a mutual effort by the Parties, a mere allegation of armed aggression cannot be deemed suitable for judicial settlement by the Court.

The issues arising from unstable conditions in a disintegrating State cannot constitute legal disputes before this Court, whose main function is to deal with the rights and obligations of States. Unilateral referral to the Court of acts of armed aggression in which a State is directly involved does not fall within the purview of Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Court's Statute.

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