Aegean Sea Continental Shelf Case (Greece V. Turkey)
- Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research
- Dec 26, 2024
- 2 min read
Aakash Sharma, BA LLB, Bennett University
In the INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE/ COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE
Bench and Quorum
President Jimenez de Arechaga; Vice-President Nagendra Singh; Judges Forster, Gros, Lachs, Dillard, de Castro, Morozov, Sir Humphrey Waldock, Ruda, Mosler, Elias and Tarazi~; Judge ad hoc Stassinopoulos.
Of the 12 Members of the Court who voted for the decision, Vice-Resident Nagendra Singh and Judges Gros, Lachs, Morozov and Tarazi have appended separating opinions or declarations.
Dissenting opinions have been appended to the Judgment by Judge de Castro and Jude ad hoc Stassinopoulos.
Procedural History
Greek Appeal to the United Nations Security Council: Greece's application to the UN Security Council was motivated by the assertion that the Turkish explorations on the Aegean continental shelf, which Greece claims as its own, had created a hazardous scenario. Greece argues that this position poses a threat to world peace and security. Greece invoked Article 35 of the UN Charter in its plea, seeking the Council's assurance to restore peace that had been jeopardisedbyTurkey'sexploratoryeffortsintheAegeanSea. Greeceestablishedaprecarious state of calm through the actions of Turkish air and naval troops, who were escorting the research vessel Sismik-I. The Greek government responded with military measures to address the situation. Turkey reiterated its stance that the Greek assertions on the continental shelf lacked a solid basis, as the delimitation of the Continental Shelf had not yet been determined. Turkey also noted that its own warship was subjected to harassment by Greek vessels and planes. In addition, Turkey lodged a complaint asserting that Greece had sent military forces to the Eastern Aegean Islands, which is deemed a breach of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923. Therefore, Turkey requested that the Council extend an invitation to Greece for substantive discussions and insisted that Greece demilitarise the islands in question in order to eliminate the threat to peace and security in the region.
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