Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (Advisory Opinion of 25 February 2019), International Court of Justice: Historical Customary International Law and Self-Determination in the Colonial Context
![handle is hein.journals/austintlj26 and id is 187 raw text is: 181
CASE NOTE
LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SEPARATION OF THE
CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO FROM MAURITIUS IN 1965
(ADVISORY OPINION OF 25 FEBRUARY 2019),
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: HISTORICAL
CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW AND SELF-
DETERMINATION IN THE COLONIAL CONTEXT
ANGUS FRASER*AND BENJAMIN TENG*
I INTRODUCTION
[S]hips which used to bring food stopped coming. We had nothing to eat. No
medicine. Nothing at all. We suffered a lot. But then one day, a ship called Nordvaer
came. The administrator told us we had to board the ship, leaving everything, leaving
all our personal belongings behind except a few clothes ... and when this was done,
it was done in the dark. We boarded the ship in the dark so that we could not see
our island ... conditions in the hull of the ship were bad. We were like animals and
slaves in that ship. People were dying of sadness in that ship.
Marie Liseby Elyse
Chagossian, Mauritian Delegation
Statement to the International Court of Justice
On 23 June 2017, the United Nations General Assembly ('UNGA') adopted Resolution
71/292,1 requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice ('Court') on
two questions relating to the legality of the decolonisation of Mauritius. These two questions
were as follows.
(a) Was the process of decolonization of Mauritius lawfully completed when
Mauritius was granted independence in 1968, following the separation of the
Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and having regard to international law,
including obligations reflected in General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14
December 1960, 2066 (XX) of 16 December 1965, 2232 (XXI) of 20 December
1966 and 2357 (XXII) of 19 December 1967?
BA LLB (Hons I) (Qld).
BCom LLB (Hons I) (Qld).
Requestfor an advisory opinion of the International Court offustice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos
Archipelagofrom Maurtius in 1965, GA Res 71/292, UN Doc A/RES/71292 (22 June 2017).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/austintlj26&div=14&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most