015- Amabatielos Case (Greece vs UK)
On April 9th, 1951, Greece filed an application instituting proceedings against the United Kingdom before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over disputes that a Greek national had with Great Britain. In the present case, Mr. Ambatielos was a Greek shipowner who had signed a contract with the British Government in 1919 for the purchase of steamboats. He claimed to have suffered losses as a result of the failure of the Government of the United Kingdom to carry out the terms of its contract and some judicial decisions rendered against him by the English courts in circumstances which he claimed were contrary to international law.
The respondent State had raised a preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the Court. In its judgment of July 1st, 1952, the ICJ declared itself competent to decide whether the United Kingdom was obliged to submit the dispute to arbitration, but, on the other hand, it declared that it had no jurisdiction to rule on the merits of the claim.
In another judgment, that of May 19th 1953, the Court held that the United Kingdom was under the obligation to submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the Treaties of 1886 and 1926.
This summary is provided for informational purposes only, does not involve the responsibility of Dome and should in no way be used as a substitute for a careful reading of the judgment and order of the case.
