INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

THE PEACE PALACE

THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
THE CASE CONCERNING
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
THE PARTIES CONCERNING
CERTAIN ACTIVITIES WITHIN
THE MALACHI GAP
THE KINGDOM OF AMALEA
(APPLICANT)
v.
THE REPUBLIC OF RITANIA
(RESPONDENT)
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MEMORIAL FOR RESPONDENT
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2014
MEMORIAL FOR THE REPUBLIC OF RITANIA
Preliminaries
Page i of xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... i
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES ........................................................................................................ii
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION .......................................................................................... iv
QUESTIONS PRESENTED ........................................................................................................vi
STATEMENT
OF
FACTS.....vii
ARGUMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 1
CONCLUSION AND PRAYER FOR RELIEF ......................................................................... 9
MEMORIAL FOR THE REPUBLIC OF RITANIA
Preliminaries
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INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
BOOKS
ESSAYS, ARTICLES, AND JOURNALS
U.N. DOCUMENTS
MEMORIAL FOR THE REPUBLIC OF RITANIA
Preliminaries
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STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
The Kingdom of Amalea (Applicant) and the Republic of Ritania (Respondent)
have agreed to submit by Special Agreement their differences concerning their differences on
certain activities within the Malachi Gap, and transmitted a copy thereof to the Registrar of the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in accordance with Article 40(1) of the Statute of the ICJ
(Statute). Therefore, Amalea and Ritania have accepted the jurisdiction of the ICJ pursuant to
Article 36(1) of the Statute.
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Preliminaries
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QUESTIONS PRESENTED
I.
Whether Ritanias conduct with respect to Excelsior Island project complied in all respects with
its obligation under international law and the terms of the Malachi Gap treaty, and Ritania has no
obligation to compensate Amalea for any loss or damage allegedly caused by the 2009 landslide.
II.
Whether Milo Bellezzas salvage of the Cargast is unlawful, and the cargo and artifacts
recovered from the wreck properly belong to Ritania, which has the right to protect them.
III.
Whether the Amalean Navys pursuit of Oscar de Luz into Ritanias EEZ, and his subsequent
arrest, were illegal.
IV.
Whether Amalea was without jurisdiction to try Luz in connection with the Rosehillcollision,
and must return him to Ritania immediately.
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Preliminaries
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STATEMENT OF FACTS
AMALEA AND ITS PRIDE IN FISHING
Amalea is a developing, newly industrialized island state, while the Republic of Ritania is
a developed, industrialized peninsular state separated by the Strait of Malachi. Amalean fishing
vessels have historically plied almost every part of the Strait. Amalea depends on the fishing
industry for its economy, and fish accounts for 40% of Amaleans protein consumption. Its most
prized fish species is the Dorian wrasse, which is known to breed only in a small area in the
Malachi Strait.
Amalea is among the first nations to develop and implement sustainable fishing practices.
It has even established bounded conservation zones in those areas of the seas contiguous to its
coasts where it solely develops and maintains its fishing activities. It also enacted the Coastal
Fisheries Protection Act, which applies to its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The said act
established a licensing scheme for all fishing activities, granting authority to the Amalean
Environmental Protection Agency to regulate any activities that posed risks to fish stocks.
RITANIA AND ITS INTERESTS ON WHAT LIES BENEATH THE MALACHI STRAIT SEABED
Ritania is not as interested as Amalea in the fishing industry. In fact, fishing in Ritania is
limited to sedentary fish species found within 5 nautical miles of its coastline.
In 1940, Ritanian geologists discovered significant reserves of petroleum and natural gas
beneath the seabed in the Strait of Malachi. In September 19, 1956, Ritanian President issued a
proclamation claiming all rights to the natural resources of the subsoil and seabed of the
continental shelf contiguous to the coasts of Ritania. It also states that where the continental shelf
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extends to the shores of another state, the boundary of the shelf is to be determined in accordance
with equitable principles.
Ritania objected to Amaleas Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, as regards to any potential
interpretation of the act as applying to the Malachi Strait, and since the conflicting claims of the
two states have never been resolved.
EXCELSIOR ISLAND
Amalea and Ritania engaged in extensive negotiations about the demarcation of their
EEZ claims in the Malachi Strait, which resulted to the Malachi Gap Treaty (MGT) in 1992,
which was subsequently ratified by both states. The areas previously claimed by each states as its
EEZ outside the Malachi Gap were stipulated to constitute the states uncontested EEZ.
Amalea amended its Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, to protect vital fisheries resources
within the Malachi Strait, as allowed by the MGT.
A Ritanian exploration vessel discovered the Erebus gas field, a massive natural gas
deposit located in the deep waters of the Malachi Strait, about 150NM from the coast of Ritania.
Ritania developed the subsea resources such as the Erebus field, as allowed by the MGT. Ritania
started the construction of Excelsior Island on the Sirius Plateau, and is entirely outside of the
Malachi Gap and within Ritanias uncontested EEZ. Excelsior island is a facility for the
production of 7 million metric tons/annum of liquefied natural gas from the Erebus field, and
will be facilitated by Excelsior Island Gas and Power Limited (EIGP), owned by a Ritanian
billionaire, Kali.
Dredging had to be done for the construction of Excelsior Island. The project underwent
the required environmental impact assessment so that, EIGP will be granted a permit to construct
Excelsior Island.Amalea contested to this. They published a report prepared by the International
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League for Sustainable Aquaculture (ILSA) concluding that any major dredging on the Malachi
gap could potentially prove catastrophic for native species and ecosystems. Basically Amalea
contends that although Ritania conducted and EIA, such did not address the potential impact of
the dredging on the waters of the Malachi gap or on the fish species living there.
Ritania responded by proposing bilateral negotiations, which began in mid-2008,
continued for a year, but reached a stalemate in late July 2009. Amaleas foreign minister
notifiedRitania of Amaleas intent to seek provisional measures from the ICJ if it could not
resolved through negotiations.
When the EIGP was granted a permit to construct Excelsior Island, Amalea sought an
order from the ICJ requiring Ritania to halt the project. In that case, the ICJ concluded by 8-7
votes that the circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power under Art. 41 of
the Statute to indicate provisional measures.
However, such rejection of Amaleas request was
not to prevent it from making a fresh request based on new facts at a later date.
After 3 months of dredging, sonar buoys detected a significant underwater landslide,
which was a direct result of the dredging, which caused an over-steeping of the slope in a
geologically weak part of the Sirius Plateau. It also caused extremely high turbidity levels, which
persisted for several weeks, dissociation of gas hydrates at the foot of the Sirius Plateau. The
latter resulted into higher concentration of several dissolved gases, including carbon dioxide and
methane, in shallow waters.
Amalea monitored the area, and results revealed that the landslide had an immediate and
significant negative impact on the known Dorian wrasse population. ILSA declared the said fish
as an endangered species
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Amalea held Ritania responsible for the said event. They are demanding reparations from
Ritania for the loss of revenue related to Dorian wrasse-related commercial exploitation.
THE CARGAST
A Ritanian oil and gas exploration vessel conducting sonar-mapping operations in the
Malachi gap discovered the wreck of the schooner Cargast. The President of Ritania immediately
responded that the treasures (Sacred Helian Coronet) on board the Cargast are sacred to the
people of Ritania, and thus, it belongs to them. Meanwhile, upon hearing the discovery, Amalea
claims
that
the
Cargast
and
all
of
its
cargo
is
the
property
of
Amalea,
to
be
held
in
trust
in
for
all
humankind.
Amalea hired a Swiss treasure hunter, Milo Bellezza, to explore the wreck and recover
the items therefrom.
Ritania strongly objected to this systematic looting and considered the
deployment of naval vessels to patrol the area. Later on, its Navy began to patrol the area of the
wreck. Nevertheless, the wreck and all other items were recovered by Amalea, by Milo Belleza.
Ritania demanded that Amalea immediately hand over the items plundered by Milo
Belleza, and that the license Amalea granted to Belleza is a violation of the letter and spirit of the
Malachi Gap Treaty and customary international law. Pending this case before the ICJ, Amalea
agreed to place all objects removed from the Cargast, in escrow held by the Ministry of Culture
of the Canada.
THE ROSEHILL INCIDENT
The Daedalus, a stolen Ritanian-flagged yacht under the control of a Ritanian citizen,
Oscar de Luz sped towards Excelsior Island. Luz steered the Daedalus away from Excelsior
island to the northwest, and sped due east towards Ritania. The Rosehill, an Amalean-registered
cruise ship navigated close to Excelsior island and stuck the island, when its captain maneuvered
the ship away from the speeding Daedalus. The impact killed 127 passengers and crew, and
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injured 150. 89 of the dead were Amalean nationals. The captain alerted the Amalean Coastal
Protection Service.
After being contacted by the Rosehills captain, Cpt. Haddock of the Amalean Navy
pursued the Daedalus, crossing into Ritanias uncontested EEZ. In an attempt to get the Icarus to
veer away, Luz suddenly steered the Daedalus straight towards the Icarus. The ships collided at
high speed. The Icarus suffered some minor damage, but the Daedalus began to sink rapidly.
Cpt. Haddocks crew captured Luz, arrested him and brought him to Amalea on board the Icarus.
The Daedalus crew and passengers were also taken on boards, but it was quickly determined
that they had committed no criminal acts, and they were released when the Icarus reached the
ports.
Ritania immediately filed a protest claiming that the arrest and prosecution of Luz were
illegal under international law. Ritania argued that it had exclusive jurisdiction over the alleged
offenses, and that Luz must be immediately returned to Ritania for investigation into whether
there was a basis to prosecute him for the Rosehill incident.
Amaleas Penal Code has specifically included offenses committed in Amaleas
uncontested EEZ and the Malachi Gap. They charged Luz with 127 counts of murder, reckless
endangerment, negligent operation of a seagoing vessel, and various property crimes. They
refused to repatriate Luz, noting that Ritanian criminal law did not expressly provide for
prosecution of offenses committed outside the countrys territorial waters, and therefore Luz
might never be required to answer for his crimes. After Amalea put him on trial, Luz was
convicted of nearly all of the charges against him, and is not serving a life sentence in a mediumsecurity
prison, and he is ineligible for parole until 2032.
MEMORIAL FOR THE REPUBLIC OF RITANIA
Pleadings and Authorities
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ARGUMENTS
I. RESPONDENT COMPLIED IN ALL RESPECTS WITH ITS OBLIGATIONS
UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE TERMS OF THE MALACHI GAP
TREATY WHEN IT BUILD THE EXCELSIOR ISLAND PROJECT AND HAS NO
OBLIGATION TO COMPENSATE AMALEA FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE
ALLEGEDLY CAUSED BY THE 2009 LANDSLIDE.
A. RESPONDENT ONLY EXERCISED ITS RIGHT TO EXPLORE, EXPLOIT AND PROTECT THE
NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE SEABED AND SUBSOIL AS STATED IN THE MALACHI GAP
TREATY.
Under Article 193 of the UNCLOS, States have the sovereign right to exploit their
natural resources pursuant to their environmental policies and in accordance with their
duty to protect and preserve the marine environment. Also, under article 60 of the same
convention, in its EEZ, Ritania has the right to construct, operate and use artificial
islands, installations and structures for the exercise of rights, jurisdiction and duties of a
coastal state in its EEZ, and, other installations and structures which may interfere with
the exercise of the rights of a coastal state in its EEZ.
B. RESPONDENT CANNOT BE FAULTED ON THE GREAT DECLINE IN THE DORIAN WRASSE
POPULATION.
The Dorian Wrasse is a nonmigratory reef fish that lives in shallow waters in and around
the area of the Sirius Plateau (based on the 2014 Correction and Clarifications on the
Compromis). The Sirius Plateau is the breeding ground of the Dorian wrasse, and it
occupies less than 50 sqm within the shallow waters of the said plateau. The Sirius Plateu
is an area of the continental crust in the Malachi Gap approximately 40 NM from the
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Pleadings and Authorities
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Ritanian coast and approximately 180 NM form the coast of Amalea. Indisputably, the
Sirius Plataeu is geomorphically and geologically related to the Ritanian landmass, where
the waters are on average less than 20m deep.
Since the Sirius Plateau is within Respondents EEZ according to the UNCLOS,
and therefore, under its control, the effects of the dredging was not the concern of the
Applicant. The decline in the population of the Dorian wrasse cannot be faulted upon the
Respondent, who was merely exercising its rights to exploit the subsoil within its EEZ.
The landslide was a fortuitous event and therefore, the unintended unfortunate result was
unforeseen and unintentional on Respondents part.
C. RESPONDENT PERFORMED ACTS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO PREVENT, REDUCE AND
CONTROL POLLUTION OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING EXCELSIOR
ISLAND.
Considering that Respondent merely performed its rights and obligations consistent
with the UNCLOS and the Malachi Gap Treaty, they also evidently performed acts that
are necessary to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from
any source, using the best practicable means at their disposal and in accordance with their
capabilities. By conducting the EIA and requiring a license for the building of Excelsior
Island, Respondent performed all measures necessary to ensure that activities under their
control and jurisdiction are so conducted as not to cause damage or pollution to other
States and their controlled environment. Further, through conducting the EIA,
Respondent was diligent to ensure that pollution arising from incidents or activities under
their jurisdiction or control does not have the possibility spread beyond the areas where
they exercise sovereign rights in accordance with the UNCLOS.
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Pleadings and Authorities
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II. MILO BELLEZZAS SALVAGE OF THE CARGAST IS UNLAWFUL, AND THE
CARGO AND ARTIFACTS RECOVERED FROM THE WRECK PROPERLY
BELONG TO RITANIA, WHICH HAS THE RIGHT TO PROTECT THEM.
A. UNLAWFUL SALVAGE
1. Cultural Heritage
The wreck of Cargast is undoubtedly an underwater cultural heritage. The UNESCOCPUCH
defined Underwater cultural heritage as all traces of human existence having a
cultural, historical or archaeological character which have been partially or totally under
water, periodically or continuously, for at least 100 years. Historians believed that
Cargast has sunk for more than 500 years. Aboard in that ship were the prized religious
and cultural icons and other precious objects from the pillage of Helios, the capital of
Ritania. Contemporary record said that among the objects stolen was the Sacred Helian
Coronet, which was placed on the heads of Ritanian monarchs and reportedly made of
gold and precious stones. Ritanian Minister of Cultural Affairs said It will be an honor
to the entire nation of Ritania to bring back the Sacred Helian Coronet to their
homeland.