Corfu Channel Case (UK v. Albania)
Rule established
(1) Every state has an obligation not to knowingly allow its territory to be used for acts contrary to the rights of other states. (2) Right of innocent passage through international straits cannot be denied. (3) Circumstantial evidence is admissible in international adjudication.
Facts
- October 1946: British warships passing through Corfu Channel struck mines; 44 killed, ships damaged
- Albania denied knowledge of minelaying
- UK sought damages and declaration of Albania's international responsibility
- UK also conducted minesweeping in Albanian waters without consent (Operation Retail)
Issues
- Whether Albania was responsible for the explosions
- Whether UK had right of passage through the strait
- Whether UK's minesweeping violated Albanian sovereignty
Held
- Albania responsible: it must have known of the mines and failed to notify or warn
- UK had right of innocent passage through international straits in peacetime
- UK's unilateral minesweeping violated Albanian sovereignty
- Circumstantial evidence sufficient to establish state knowledge
Ratio Decidendi
Every state has an obligation not to allow knowingly its territory to be used for acts contrary to the rights of other states. In international straits connecting two parts of the high seas, there exists a right of innocent passage that cannot be suspended.
How to use it in an exam
- Authority for state responsibility (knowledge + failure to act)
- Right of innocent passage through straits
- Key line: "In the Corfu Channel Case (1949), the ICJ held that every state has an obligation not to knowingly allow its territory to be used for acts contrary to the rights of other states."
Source
Source: ICJ Reports 1949, p. 4
This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.