INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

SPECIAL AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF ERIDAS (APPLICANT) AND THE
REPUBLIC OF RANACHE (RESPONDENT) TO SUBMIT TO THE
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE THE DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THEM RELATING TO M/V MAJESTIC

jointly notified to the Court on 03 September 2019

COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE

COMPROMIS
ENTRE LE ROYAUME D'ERIDAS (DEMANDERESSE) ET LA
RÉPUBLIQUE DE RANACHE ( ) POUR SOUMETTRE À
LA COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE LES DIFFÉRENCES
ENTRE LEUR SE RAPPORTANT AU M / V MAJESTIC

03 Septembre 2019
 JOINT NOTIFICATION
ADDRESSED TO THE REGISTRAR OF THE COURT

The Hague, 03 September 2019

On behalf of the Kingdom of Eridas (Applicant) and the Republic of Ranache (Respondent),
in accordance with Article 40(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, we have
the honor to transmit to you an original of the Special Agreement for submission to the
International Court of Justice the case of Questions Relating to the matter concerning M/V
Majestic, signed in The Hague, The Netherlands, on the third day of September in the year
two thousand and nineteen.

(Signed) (Signed)
Madeline Ong Myreen Ragino
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Eridas to the Ambassador of the Republic of Ranache to the
Kingdom of The Netherlands Kingdom of The Netherlands
 SPECIAL AGREEMENT

SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE BY

THE KINGDOM OF ERIDAS AND THE REPUBLIC OF RANACHE
ON THE MATTER CONCERNING M/V MAJESTIC

The Kingdom of Eridas and the Republic of Ranache (hereinafter referred to as “the Parties”)

Considering that differences have arisen between them on the matter concerning M/V
Majestic;

Recognizing that the Parties concerned have been unable to settle these differences by
negotiation;

Desiring further to define the issues to be submitted to the International Court of Justice
(hereinafter referred to as “the Court”) for settling this dispute;

In furtherance thereof the Parties have concluded the following Compromis:

Article 1
The Parties submit the questions contained in the Compromis (together with Clarifications to
follow) to the Court pursuant to Article 40(1) of the Statute of the Court.

Article 2
It is agreed by the Parties that the Kingdom of Eridas shall act as Applicant and the Republic
of Ranache as Respondent, but such agreement is without prejudice to any question of the
burden of proof.

Article 3
(a) The Court is requested to decide the Case on the basis of the rules and principles of
general international law, as well as any applicable treaties.

(b) The Court is also requested to determine the legal consequences, including the rights and
obligations of the Parties, arising from its Judgment on the questions presented in the Case.

Article 4
(a) All questions of procedure and rules shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions
of the Official Rules of the 2019 Justitia Moot Court Competition.

(b) The Parties request the Court to order that the written proceedings should consist of
Memorials presented by each of the Parties not later than the date set forth in the Official
Schedule of the 2019 Justitia Moot Court Competition.

Article 5
(a) The Parties shall accept any Judgment of the Court as final and binding upon them and
shall execute it in its entirety and in good faith.

(b) Immediately after the transmission of any Judgment, the Parties shall enter into
negotiations on the modalities for its execution.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized, have signed the present
Compromis and have affixed thereto their respective seals of office.

Done in The Hague, The Netherlands, this third day of September in the year two thousand
and nineteen, in triplicate in the English language.

(Signed) (Signed)
Madeline Ong Myreen Ragino
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Eridas to the Ambassador of the Republic of Ranache to the
Kingdom of The Netherlands Kingdom of The Netherlands
 *SPECIAL AGREEMENT*
Eridas / Ranache

1. The Republic of Ranache is a dense coastal state with a population of approximately

55,000,000 people. A sizable portion of its population is engaged in agriculture and
fisheries, however, it also imports some products like iron and steel, mineral fuels,
industrial machinery and equipment, food and live animals, and miscellaneous
manufactured articles.

2. Ranache is homogenous in the sense that most, if not all, of its peoples are of the
same ethnicity and culture, and the official languages are Ranachese and Lishi, on
account of Ranache being a former colony of Lishenstock. Save for the three decades
it had been subjected to totalitarian rule under Napolis Reydali, Ranache has been a
democratic republic country from the time of its independence from colonial rule. In
2005, Gatopi Onocia took the oath of office as Ranache's new president and since
then, Ranache has been suffering from a trade deficit and a serious decline in
productivity.

3. The Kingdom of Eridas is an industrialized country under a constitutional monarchy

with a population of approximately 80,000,000 people. It is primarily engaged in
exporting oil, broadcasting equipment, computers, office machine parts, integrated
circuits, telephones, iron ore, cars, and gold. Its economy is complex, and 95% of the
population wholly belongs to Erid ethnicity, a different race from the Ranache
ethnicity. Eridas’ official language is Erid but 30% of the population is fluent in Lishi
since Eridas and Lishenstock are neighboring countries.

4. One major trading partner of Eridas is Suwami, an archipelagic state on the eastern
side of the Gulag Ocean, with a population primarily engaged in agriculture, fisheries,
and manufacturing. Suwami has no known oil reserves, which requires it to import
all of its fuel requirements from its trading partners, including Eridas. To date, Eridas
supplies 75% of Suwami’s fuel needs.

5. As part of its maritime route, Eridas’ oil tankers travel eastward, passing through
along the coastline of Ranache in order to arrive and deliver their cargo to Suwami.

6. All states are members of the United Nations and are parties to the Statute of the
International Court of Justice. All states have ratified the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Seas in 1995.
7. In 2010, civil unrest seriously plagued Ranache and, by July of that year, military
officers of Ranache staged a coup and successfully unseated Gatopi Onocia from the
Presidency. Although the change of leadership was welcomed by the citizens
according to media reports, civil unrest and lawlessness intensified throughout the
country. During the second half of 2010 alone, Ranache received reports of at least
fifteen (15) pirate activities within its Exclusive Economic Zone, specifically
targeting merchant ships from industrialized nations.

8. In January 2011, one oil tanker flying the flag of Eridas, the M/V Butterfly, while en
route to Suwami and around 50 nautical miles off the coast of Ranache, was
approached by an unmarked light fishing vessel on a direct collision course. The
master of M/V Butterfly repeatedly sought identification from the unmarked vessel
and continuously advised it to change course to avoid collision. One of M/V
Butterfly’s crew viewed the unmarked vessel from the starboard side and saw two
persons of Ranache ethnicity standing on top of the vessel holding automatic rifles.

9. Sensing that they were about to be a target of a pirate attack, the master of M/V
Butterfly sounded the alarm and sent a distress signal to Ranache authorities. A
nearby Ranache Navy Ship, the RNS Sting, which was on piracy patrol in the vicinity,
responded to the call and shifted direction towards M/V Butterfly. When the
unmarked fishing vessel saw the RNS Sting approaching, it turned around away from
M/V Butterfly while still being chased by the RNS Sting. News later on that day
reported that the unmarked vessel was able to slip away from the RNS Sting.

10. The incident caused widespread dismay of Eridas citizens towards the Ranache
authorities. In a press conference shortly after the events involving M/V Butterfly,
Eridas’ Foreign Minister called out Ranache saying, “The Kingdom of Eridas is
deeply concerned about the apparent failure of Ranache authorities to secure its
borders. The recent pirate attacks along its coast, including the attempt against M/V
Butterfly, is a cause of major concern to all countries who make use of that maritime
route. We thus call on the leadership of Ranache to intensify its efforts to curb
lawlessness within and around its territory pursuant to its obligations under
International Law.”

11. The military leadership of Ranache took offense by the statement. In response,
Ranache announced the passage of the Criminal Jurisdiction Expansion Act in July
2011, wherein Ranache extended the applicability of its domestic penal laws to all of
its maritime areas, up to its Exclusive Economic Zone as defined under the UNCLOS.
An excerpt of the Criminal Jurisdiction Expansion Act is attached hereto as Annex 1.
12. On the other hand, Eridas, concerned about its ship’s safety in passing along the
coastline of Ranache, amended its Maritime Security Act on August 2011 to allow
merchant ships to hire Private Security Contractors (PSC) to serve as escorts for
vessels traversing through “high risk areas” as determined by the International
Maritime Organization (IMO). An excerpt of Amendment is attached hereto as
Annex 2.

13. Due to persistent lobbying by shipping states, led primarily by Eridas, the maritime
route along the coastline of Ranache was declared as “high risk” by the IMO on
October 2011.

14. Because of these developments, diplomatic relationship between Eridas and Ranache
went sour. Ranache denounced Eridas’ use of PSC within its Exclusive Economic
Zone while Eridas lamented the lack of action on the part of Ranache to curb piracy in
the area.

15. Ranachean citizens started staging protests against Eridas, claiming that they are the
“modern day colonists” and that “Ranache will never again bow down to any foreign
influence.” Sensing opportunity to win the electorate, the military leadership of
Ranache echoed the protests and, in a live television show, Gen. Ramil Affan, the de
facto leader of the junta, said “Eridas leaders are gravely mistaken if they think that
our leadership does not have control over the borders. We have intensified law
enforcement activities on our seas and we will not hesitate to apply all remedies,
including reasonable force if necessary, to enforce our Penal Laws.”

16. On March 25, 2012, a privately owned oil tanker flying the Eridas flag, M/V Majestic,
sailed from Eridas en route to Suwami to deliver crude oil. During the voyage, it had
on board a Private Security Contractor composed of a squad of five (5) armed
personnel, each carrying an assault rifle, among others, and all of whom are citizens
of Eridas.

17. On March 27, 2012, while M/V Majestic was anchored around 50 nautical miles away
from Ranache’s coast, two (2) fishing boats approached the ship. According to the
crew of M/V Majestic, there were about twenty (20) people on board the two fishing
boats. They were approaching M/V Majestic when the PSC lookout, Emilio
Gonzalez, noticed them. The master of M/V Majestic advised the two fishing boats to
change course but no response was made. Fearing an imminent pirate attack, Emilio
Gonzalez sounded the alarm and directed all the crew to take cover inside the ship.
 Emilio Gonzalez then positioned himself and, according to him, fired warning shots
to the sea around the two (2) boats. After the series of shots, the two (2) fishing boats
turned around and sailed back to shore. Emilio Gonzalez insists that he saw the
people on board the boats as being armed.

18. Shortly after, M/V Majestic raised anchor and started to sail away, fearing that another
pirate attack may be imminent.

19. Meanwhile, in Ranache, Gorgi Anuha, a Ranachean captain of the fishing boat M/V
Devourer carrying the flag of Ranache, reported to the authorities that they were just
returning home from fishing within Ranache’s EEZ when, suddenly and without
warning, armed personnel from an oil tanker anchored around 50 nautical miles away
from Ranache’s coast, started firing at them. The Devourer suffered minor damage,
however, one of the crew, Jon Cito, also a Ranachean, suffered a fatal wound and died
before getting any medical attention. Upon inquiry, Gorgi Anuha described the M/V
Majestic as the vessel that fired upon them and the Ranache Navy called upon its
ship, the RNS Shield, which was within the vicinity of the M/V Majestic, to stop it.

20. RNS Shield immediately gave chase to M/V Majestic and advised it to stop for
boarding and inspection on suspicion of murder. The captain of M/V Majestic, still
shook from the earlier events, fumbled in preparing his response to RNS Shield.

21. Not having heard an immediate response from M/V Majestic, RNS Shield shot at the
body of M/V Majestic, but the same did not hit. Because of this, M/V Majestic
stopped sailing until RNS Shield caught up with it. They were positioned
approximately 95 nautical miles from the coast of Ranache.

22. Upon boarding M/V Majestic, the RNS Shield officers arrested all five (5) Private
Security Contractor personnel, including Emilio Gonzalez, for committing murder
under the Ranache Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure. The officers then
transferred the PSC personnel from M/V Majestic to RNS Shield and thereafter towed
M/V Majestic to the closest Ranache port.

23. Ranache then detained the M/V Majestic for several days pending the investigation of
the incident by Ranache authorities. Eventually, Ranache authorities identified
Emilio Gonzalez as the one who fired the bullet that killed Jon Cito. After more than
a month of detention, on May 15, 2012, Ranache released M/V Majestic and the PSC
personnel, except for Emilio Gonzalez. Ranache thereafter instituted criminal
 proceedings before its courts against Emilio Gonzalez, a citizen of Eridas, for the
murder of Jon Cito.

24. The Government of Eridas lost no time in condemning the acts of Ranache, saying
that, “The measures taken by Ranache against M/V Majestic and Emilio Gonzalez
exceeded the extent of authority that Ranache can exercise in its EEZ. Proceeding
with criminal proceedings against Emilio Gonzalez violates Eridas’ rights as the flag
state of M/V Majestic and the state of the crew. The use of force against M/V
Majestic constitutes a material breach of international law.”

25. In response, the Government of Ranache issued the following statement: “Our
government’s actions are well within our authority as a coastal state under relevant
international laws. Our government believes that the measures in the present case
remained within proper law enforcement measures. Ranache has full authority to try
Mr. Emilio Gonzalez for murder.”

26. Diplomatic solutions having failed, on September 3, 2019, both states jointly
submitted the dispute to the Court by concluding the Special Agreement based on
Article 40 (1) of the Statute of the Court.

34. Eridas and Ranache have both ratified the following treaties and conventions:
a. Charter of the United Nations
b. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
c. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
d. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
e. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
f. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence Against the
Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA Convention) (The parties have not
ratified the 2005 Protocol)

35. The following are the issues to be resolved:

I. Whether Ranache acted in violation of international law by asserting and

exercising jurisdiction over M/V Majestic, including its arrest and detention
within Ranache port.

II. Whether Ranache used excessive force in boarding and arresting M/V
Majestic in violation of international law;
III. Whether Ranache can proceed with the criminal prosecution against Emilio
Gonzalez, a citizen of Eridas.
 ANNEX 1
Excepts of Ranache Criminal Jurisdiction Expansion Act

x x x

Article 1. Section 2 of the Ranache Penal Code is hereby amended as follows:

Section 2. Punishment of offenses committed within Ranache. Every person

shall be liable to punishment under this Code committed within Ranache,
including its internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, continental shelf,
and/or exclusive economic zone, as defined by relevant laws or international
agreements.

Article 2. Section 3 of the Ranache Penal Code is hereby amended as follows:

Section 3. Punishment of offenses committed beyond, but which by law may be

tried within Ranache. Any person liable, by any Ranache law, to be tried for
an offense committed beyond Ranache shall be dealt with according to the
provisions of this Code for any act committed beyond in the same manner as if
such act had been committed within Ranache.

Article 3. Section 4 of the Ranache Penal Code is hereby amended as follows:

Section 4. Extension of Code to extra-territorial offenses. The provisions of

this Code apply also to any offense committed in any place without and
beyond the territory of Ranache: (1) by a citizen of Ranache; or (2) on any
ship or aircraft registered in Ranache, irrespective of its location, by any
person not necessarily a citizen;

x x x
 ANNEX 2
An Act Amending the Eridas Maritime Security Act

x x x

Article 2. Section 75 of the Eridas Maritime Security Act is hereby amended as follows:

Section 75. General authority. The Secretary may take actions described in
subsection (b) of this section to prevent or respond to an act of terrorism against:

(1) an individual, vessel, or public or commercial structure, that is--

(A) subject to the jurisdiction of Eridas;  and

(B) located within or adjacent to the marine environment;  or

(2) a vessel of Eridas or an individual on board that vessel.

Article 3. Section 76 of the Eridas Maritime Security Act is hereby amended as follows:

Section 76. Specific authority. Under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary
may:

(1) carry out or require measures, including inspections, port and harbor patrols,
the establishment of security and safety zones, and the development of
contingency plans and procedures, to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism;

(2) recruit members of the Regular Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve and
train members of the Regular Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve in the
techniques of preventing and responding to acts of terrorism;  and

(3) dispatch properly trained and qualified armed Coast Guard personnel, or
personnel from Eridas Merchant Marine Academy, State maritime academies,
or Coast Guard approved maritime industry schools in Eridas, as may be
determined by the Secretary and in “high risk areas” as certified by the
relevant authorities, on public or commercial vessels subject to Eridas
jurisdiction to deter or respond to acts of terrorism or transportation security
incidents.