HAYA DE LA TORRE CASE Judgment of 13 June 1951

The Haya de la Torre case between Colombia and Peru with Cuba as intervening Party, was brought before the Court under the following circumstances:

In a Judgment delivered on November 20th, 1950, the Court had defined the legal relations between Colombia and Peru in regard to questions which those States had submitted to it, concerning diplomatic asylum in general and, in particular, the asylum granted on January 3rd/4th, 1949 by the Colombian Ambassador at Lima to Victor Raul Haya de la Torre; the Court had found that, in this case, the asylum had not been granted in conformity with the Convention on Asylum signed at Havana in 1928. After the Judgment had been delivered, Peru requested Colombia to execute it, and called upon her to put an end to a protection improperly granted by surrendering the refugee. Colombia replied that to deliver the refugee would be not only to disregard the Judgment of November 20th, but also to violate the Havana Convention and she instituted proceedings before the Court by an Application which was filed on December 13th, 1950.

In her Application, and during the procedure, Colombia asked the Court to state in what manner the Judgment of November 20th, 1950, was to be executed, and, furthermore, to declare that, in executing that Judgment, she was not bound to surrender Haya de la Torre. Peru, for her part, also asked the Court to state in what manner Colombia should execute the Judgment. She further asked, first, the rejection of the Colombian Submission requesting the Court to state, solely, that she was not bound to surrender Haya de la Torre, and, secondly, for a declaration that the asylum ought to have ceased immediately after the delivery of the Judgment of November 20th, 1950, and that it must in any case cease forthwith, in order that Peruvian justice might resume its normal course which had been suspended. ICJ found that that it is not part of the Court's judicial functions to make a choice among the different ways in which the asylum may be brought to an end; that Colombia is under no obligation to surrender Haya de la Torre to the Peruvian authorities; that the asylum ought to have ceased after the delivery of the Judgment of November 20th, 1950, and must be brought to an end.

In its Judgment, the Court examines, in the first place, the admissibility of the Cuban Government's intervention. That Government, availing itself of the right which the Statute of the Court confers on States parties to a convention, the interpretation of which is in issue, had filed a Declaration of Intervention in which it set forth its views concerning the interpretation of the Havana Convention. The Government of Peru contended that the Intervention was inadmissible: that it was out of time, and was really in the nature of an attempt by a third State to appeal against the Judgment of November 20th. In regard to that point, the Court observes that every intervention is incidental to the proceedings in a case, that, consequently, a declaration filed as an intervention only acquires that character if it actually relates to the subject-matter of the pending proceedings. The subject matter of the present case relates to a new question - the surrender of Haya de la Torre to the Peruvian authorities - which was completely outside the Submissions of the parties and was in consequence not decided by the Judgment of November 20th. In these circumstances, the point which it is necessary to ascertain is whether the object of the intervention is the interpretation of the Havana Convention in regard to the question whether Colombia is under an obligation to surrender the refugee: as according to the representative of the Government of Cuba the intervention was based on the fact that it was necessary to interpret a new aspect of the Havana Convention, the Court decided to admit it.

Source: http://www.humanrights.is/the-human-rights-project/humanrightscasesandmaterials/cases/internationalcases/internationalcourt/nr/1927