| The Corfu Channel case | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | International Court of Justice |
| Full case name | Corfu Channel (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v. People's Republic of Albania) |
| Decided | 25 March 1948 (prelim. objection) 9 April 1949 (merits) 15 December 1949 (compensation) |
| Case history | |
| Related action | Monetary Gold Removed from Rome in 1943 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | José Gustavo Guerrero (Acting President), Jules Basdevant (President), Alejandro Álvarez, Isidro Fabela, Green Hackworth, Bohdan Winiarski, Milovan Zoričić, Charles de Visscher, Sir Arnold McNair, Helge Klæstad, Abdul Badawi Pasha, Sergei Krylov, John Reed, Hsu Mo, Philadelpho Azevedo, Bohuslav Ečer (ad hoc) |
| Case opinions | |
| Separate Opinion: Alejandro Álvarez Dissenting Opinion: Bohdan Winiarski Dissenting Opinion: Abdul Badawi Pasha Dissenting Opinion: Sergei Krylov Dissenting Opinion: Philadelpho Azevedo Dissenting Opinion: Bohuslav Ečer (ad hoc) | |
The Corfu Channel case (French: Affaire du Détroit de Corfou) was the first public international law case heard before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between 1947 and 1949, concerning state responsibility for damages at sea, as well as the doctrine of innocent passage. A contentious case, it was the first of any type heard by the ICJ after its establishment in 1945.
Following a series of encounters from May to November 1946 in the Corfu Channel between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of Albania—one of which resulted in damage to two Royal Navy ships and significant loss of life—the United Kingdom brought suit in the ICJ seeking reparations. After an initial ruling on jurisdiction in 1948, the ICJ issued separate merits and compensation judgments in 1949. The Court awarded the United Kingdom £843,947. This amount remained unpaid for decades, and British efforts to see it paid led to another ICJ case to resolve competing Albanian and Italian claims to more than two tons of Nazi gold. In 1996, Albania and the United Kingdom settled the judgment along with Albania's outstanding claim to the gold.
Corfu Channel has had a lasting influence on the practice of international law, especially the law of the sea. The concept of innocent passage used by the Court was ultimately adopted in a number of important law of the sea conventions. The stance taken by the Court on use of force has been of importance in subsequent decisions, such as Nicaragua v. United States. Additionally, the case served to set a number of procedural trends followed in subsequent ICJ proceedings.