The International Court of Justice remains the highest judicial authority in the world, the General Assembly heard today, as speakers called on all states to accept its jurisdiction and fully comply with its judgments.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo, while associating himself with the Non‑Aligned Movement, urged the international community to comply with an order issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) earlier this month against US sanctions on Tehran.
He stressed that the Court has authority and influence that cannot be matched by other United Nations organs and its role is critical in the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
He said the conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is a key achievement in multilateral diplomacy, adding that it is tragic that the United States is punishing a sovereign State simply for complying with Security Council resolutions.
The United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in violation of Security Council resolutions, declaring its intention to impose “the strongest sanction regime” in history, he said. “To legally and effectively counter this arrogant policy” he said Iran filed an application with the Court to protect its rights under the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights which were infringed as the result of the reimposition of sanctions.
He said the Court unanimously indicated provisional measures and specified that the United States is obliged to remove any impediments arising from the measures announcing its withdrawal from the agreement.
Khoshroo underlined that the Court unanimously attested to the illegality of United States sanctions and indicated that the United States is under obligation to refrain from any action that might aggravate the dispute before the Court.
Referring to another set of US sanctions scheduled to take effect on November 5, the Iranian ambassador said they “would certainly amount to prohibited acts with an aggravating effect on the dispute at hand and would categorize as illegal wrongful acts contrary to the court’s dictum.”
“To help preserve the primary role of the International Court of Justice as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, other states are also expected to refrain from assisting the US in imposing any impediments in transactions involving specified items, which would amount to violation of the court’s order and would be tantamount to providing assistance to the wrongdoer," Khoshroo added.
MS/PR