Asylum (Colombia/Peru)

In the Asylum Case (Columbia v Peru), judgement 20 November 1950 (General List No. 7 (1949-1950)), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognised that Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice encompassed local custom as well as general custom, in much the same way as it encompasses bilateral and multilateral treaties. [Dixon, Martin. International Law, ed. 6, 2007. Oxford University Press Inc., New York.]

The Columbian Ambassador in Lima, Peru allowed Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, head of the American People's Revolutionary Alliance sanctuary after his faction lost a one day civil war in Peru on 3 October 1948. The Columbian government granted him asylum, but the Peruvian government refused to grant him safe passage out of Peru.

Colombia maintained that according to the Conventions in force - the "Bolivian Agreement of 1911 on Extradition", the "Havana Convention of 1928 on Asylum", the "Montevideo Convention of 1933 on Political Asylum" - and according to American International Law, they were entitled to decide if asylum should be granted and their unilateral decision on this was binding on Preu. [ [http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/7/11973.pdf Press releases: Communiqué No, 50/.43] - Judgment of the ICJ of 20 November 1950]

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ee also

* List of International Court of Justice cases
* Right of asylum

References

Further reading

* [http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&code=cp&case=7&k=f8 Asylum (Colombia/Peru)] , International Court of Justice database. Accessed 25 July 2008