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[p.237]
The International Court of Justice,
After deliberation,
Having regard to Articles 48, 50 and 53 of the Statute of the Court and to
Article 57 of the Rules of Court,
Whereas, on April 9th, 1949, the Court gave judgment that the People's
Republic of Albania is responsible under international law for the
explosions which occurred on October 22nd, 1946, in Albanian waters and for
the resulting damage and loss of human life suffered by the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
Whereas, in the said Judgment, the Court reserved for further consideration
the assessment of the amount of compensation;
Whereas, on the same day, the Court made an Order under Article 48 of the
Statute, fixing various time-limits for the Parties to present their
observations on the amount of compensation demanded by the United Kingdom
Government from the People's Republic of Albania; [p 238]
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of Albania has failed to
defend its case and whereas, therefore, the Agent of the Government of the
United Kingdom has asked that the Court decide in favour of the claim of his
Government;
Whereas the Albanian Government, duly notified, did not present itself
before the Court at the public hearing of November 17th, 1949;
Whereas that Government therefore is in the situation envisaged in Article
53 of the Statute;
Whereas in these conditions paragraph 2 of the said Article is applicable;
Whereas the estimates and figures submitted by the Government of the United
Kingdom raise questions of a technical nature which call for the application
of Article 50 of the Statute;
The Agent of this Government having been duly heard;
Decides that
(1) Experts designated by the Court shall examine the figures and estimates
stated in the last submissions filed by the Government of the United
Kingdom regarding the amount of its claim for the loss of the Saumarez and
the damage caused to the Volage;
(2) This examination shall be entrusted to Rear-Admiral J. B. Berck, of the
Royal Netherlands Navy, and Mr. G. de Rooy, Director of Naval Construction,
Royal Netherlands Navy;
(3) Each expert shall make the following declaration:
"I solemnly declare, upon my honour and conscience, that I will perform my
duties in all sincerity and will abstain from divulging or using outside
the Court any secrets which may come to my knowledge in the course of the
performance of my task";
(4) The Registrar shall be responsible for the secretarial arrangements
required by the experts; he may appoint a high official of the Registry to
perform these duties;
(5) The Registrar shall place the relevant pleadings and documents at the
disposal of the experts;
(6) The experts shall file their report in the Registry at the latest on the
2nd of December, 1949. The report shall be communicated by the Registry to
the Agents of the Parties. [p 239]
Done in French and in English, the English text being authoritative, at the
Peace Palace, The Hague, this nineteenth day of November, one thousand nine
hundred and forty-nine, in three copies, one of which will be placed in the
archives of the Court and the others transmitted to the Governments of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the People's
Republic of Albania respectively.
(Signed) J. G. Guerrero,
Acting President.
(Signed) E. Hambro,
Registrar. |
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