Reagan Administration Rejects World Court

Claiming that the court has been misused by Nicaragua and other Communist nations, the Reagan administration early this week ended a 39-year-old policy of abiding by International Court of Justice decisions.

The move followed a U.S. decision to boycott court proceedings regarding charges that the U.S. was aiding guerillas trying to overthrow Nicaragua's leftist government.

Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law Abram Chayes '43, who prosecuted the U.S. on behalf of Nicaragua at The Hague, said yesterday that it is a very sad day for the U.S., considering our position as a country that abides by international law.

It was obvious that the State Department "decided it was going to lose and ran away," Chayes said. He said he thinks there is no chance for a reversal of the decision during this administration.

The Reagan Administration's decision reversed almost four decades of U.S. efforts to obtain global recognition of the World Court as a mediator in conflicts over international law.

Justifying the unprecedented move, the State Department statement noted that only a third of the world's nations recognize the World Court's jurisdiction "and the Soviet Union and its allies have never been among them." Great Britain is now the only member of the United Nations Security Council which still automatically abides by World Court rulings.

American officials said the United States will continue to deal with the court in cases in which Washington has reached agreement with other governments, through treaties or otherwise, and that the World Court is the proper forum for resolution of disputes over international law.

State Department legal advisor Abraham Soafer said the administration thought the Nicaragua proceedings did not belong in the World Court, but rather in a political forum. He said the administration believes that it is exercising its right to engage in "collective self-defense" against Nicaraguan activities which it thinks Cuba and the Soviet Union support.

Professor of Law Alan Dershowitz acknowledged the validity of the administration's reasoning, saying that "the U.S. decision, though tragic, reflects a long standing politicization of the United Nations and the World Court."