THE CORFU CHANNEL INCIDENT IN THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
THE CORFU CHANNEL INCIDENT IN THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

Summary/Abstract: The incident which occurred on 22nd October 1946 in the Corfu Channel where two UK warships encountered a mined zone that killed 46 people remains still an International Law debated case. Albania and the UK failed for decades to resolve this dispute. Interventions from the United Nations and the International Court of Justice couldn’t give a definitive solution. The first act that damaged the relations between the countries was the UK warships being shot by Albanian batteries near Saranda Bay and the second which set fire to them was the incident of Corfu Channel. Many diplomatic notes were exchanged after the incident but without any results. The dispute was then brought to the United Nations (Albania back at the time wasn’t a member state) for solution. The UN meetings didn’t produce a reconciliation between the parties. What followed was the case being sent to the International Court of Justice by the UK. Even the court’s decision didn’t bring a final solution to the dispute with countries finally declaring peace after 50 years of “war” in 1998.

• Details
• Contents