The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 209
193 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN through the Channel. Having failed to give that warning, it had been guilty of a breach of international obligation and was therefore liable in damages to the United Kingdom. For the assessment of damages, the Court again appointed a commission and on the basis of the report of the commission assessed damages in an amount a little in excess of that claimed by the United Kingdom. There was a counter-claim by Albania. Sometime after the incident in which the British destroyers had been damaged, the British Navy had carried out mine-sweeping operations in the Corfu Channel. Albania complained that in doing that, they had contravened Albanian sovereignty. The Channel was part of Albanian territorial waters and the mine-sweeping operations had been carried out without Albania's permission or consent. Albania had not asked for any damages but had stated that it would be content with a declaration. The Court did declare that the mine-sweeping operations had contravened Albanian sovereignty. Incidentally, so far as I am aware, that is the only judgment of the Court which has remained unsatisfied. Albania has not carried out the judgment. The Court is only a judicial organ; the executive organ of the United Nations is the Security Council. The Charter lays down in Article 94, that if a judgment of the Court is not carried into effect, the state in whose favour the judgment has been given may move the Security Council and the Security Council may, after hearing the parties, take such action or make such recommendations as it may deem necessary to give effect to the judgment. Question : Were there any other issues in the Court that you found particularly interesting ? Khan : The jurisdiction of the Court in contentious cases can be availed of only by sovereign states. Individuals cannot be parties to a case before the Court. But as the Nottebahm case illustrates, a state may take up the case of a national, where it finds that the respondent state or any of its organs have denied relief to the national or subjected him to treatment which involves a denial of the international rights of the state itself. The Norwegian Loans Case is an illustration. The Government of Norway and some co-operative societies in Norway had, during the last