U.S. EXPECTED TO PUT LIMITS ON RECOGNIZING WORLD COURT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000200740033-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 25, 2010
• Sequence Number: 33
• Publication Date: October 2, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP91-00587R000200740033-5
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ON PAGE J.= -
WASHINGTON TIMES
2 October 1985
U.S. expected to put limits
on recognizing World Court
By Ed Rogers
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The United States is expected to
declare within a few days - perhaps
today or tomorrow - that it will no
longer recognize unqualified World
Court jurisdiction, sources said yes-
terday.
State Department officials
declined public comment.
The Reagan administration has
expressed dissatisfaction with the
court, based at The Hague, since it
assumed jurisdiction over a com-
plaint filed against the United States
by the Marxist Sandinista govern-
ment in Nicaragua.
Nicaragua is seeking $375 million
in compensation for damage it
claims was inflicted by resistance
fighters backed by the United States,
and for the United States mining of
Nicaraguan harbors to discourage
Soviet and Cuban arms shipments to
Nicaragua.
Such a declaration by the United
States would bring it in line with a
majority of the world's nations;
fewer than one-third of the nations
of the world now recognize World
Court jurisdiction over international
disputes.
The administration withdrew
from the Nicaragua case by
renouncing the World Court's juris-
diction over a conflict that arose
politically and, the U.S. government
said, was outside the boundaries of
international law.
That case is still before the court
with no immediate resolution in
sight. Apparently, the administra-
tion intended to ignore any penalty
the court might ultimately decide to
impose against the United States on
Nicaragua's behalf.
The court, officially called the
International Court of Justice,
announced in November 1984 that it
was assuming jurisdiction in the
Nicaraguan case. The administra-
tion announced last January that it
would not participate in the proceed-
ings.
The State Department said it
believed the World Court was "deter-
mined to find in favor of Nicaragua."
"Nicaragua is in the middle of a
propaganda blast, and it has chosen
the World Court as its forum:' Elliott
Abrams, assistant secretary of state
for inter-American affairs, said at
that time.
"They [Nicaraguans] are putting
out an awful lot of lies," he added.
Another State Department offi-
cial said, "We profoundly hope the
court does not go the way of other
international organizations that
have become politicized against the
interests of Western democracies."
The judges of the World Court are
appointed by the U.N. General
Assembly and generally reflect pre-
vailing positions of that body.
Former United Nations Ambassa-
dor Jeane J. Kirkpatrick recently
pointed out that another provocation
has arisen from the fact that U.S.
private lawyers are appearing
before the court as witnesses on Nic-
aragua's behalf.
Among them are Abram Cha es
a arvar aw pro essor who served
as a3tate Department le al adviser
urmg the Kennedy a mtntstratton,
ana avt ac is ae who
recently held top-secret clearance
as 2acontract employee or t e CIA.
Yet another American who is act-
ing as a witness for Nicaragua is
Michael J. Glennon, a law professor
at the University of Cincinnati.
The administration says the San-
dinistas have limited sharply per-
sonal freedom in Nicaragua, armed
the country for aggression and
smuggled arms to Marxist rebels in
El Salvador.
But the administration's objection
to the World Court taking Nic-
aragua's case against the United
States was based on a view that the
matter was a political one that is not j
subject to any form of judicial res-
olution.
The administration had sought to
resolve its concerns about possible
Marxist takeovers in other Central
American countries through negoti-
ations with the Sandinistas.
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/29: CIA-RDP91-00587R000200740033-5