Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v United States)
The United States violated the prohibition on the use of force and the principle of non intervention by supporting the contras in Nicaragua, but the contras' acts were not attributable to it without effective control.
Facts
Nicaragua claimed that the United States had used force against it by mining its harbours and attacking its oil installations, and had intervened in its internal affairs by training, arming, equipping and financing the contras, a rebel force fighting against the Nicaraguan government. The United States argued that it was acting in collective self defence of El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, which it claimed had been attacked by Nicaragua through its support for rebels in El Salvador. The United States withdrew from the proceedings after losing on jurisdiction.
Legal principle
The International Court of Justice held that the United States had breached its obligations under customary international law not to use force against another state, not to intervene in its affairs, and not to violate its sovereignty. The prohibition on the use of force and the right of self defence existed in customary law as well as in the United Nations Charter. The supply of arms to rebels in El Salvador by Nicaragua did not amount to an armed attack, so the United States could not rely on collective self defence. However, the acts of the contras were not attributable to the United States, because it had not been shown that the United States had effective control of the military or paramilitary operations in the course of which the violations were committed.
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- Factory at Chorzów (Germany v Poland) (1928) PCIJ Series A No 17
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