The Road along the San Juan River is paved with Good Intentions: Provisional Measures and the Quest for Compliance in the Costa Rica/Nicaragua Joined Cases

On 16 December 2015, the International Court of Justice delivered its judgment in the Costa Rica/Nicaragua Joined Cases. Inter alia, the Court dealt with Nicaragua’s non-compliance with its order on provisional measures of 8 March 2011, censuring Nicaragua’s failure to comply with that order. However, the Court refused to award costs to Costa Rica based on Nicaragua’s non-compliance with provisional measures. A joint declaration by four judges elaborated on the awarding of costs in relation to compliance with provisional measures. Such a declaration could prompt the re-thinking of the Court’s decision on costs with an aim to strengthening the Court’s own stance on compliance with provisional measures.