Description of the Events and All Facts
Submitted to the International Court of Justice by the United States of America, with Ecuador as Respondent, on January 1, 2006.
From the date of its independence in 1822 until 1952, Ecuador had accepted the customary 3-mile limit as the demarcation of the State’s territorial waters. The three mile limit was thus recognized as the officially defined boundary over a period of several years. However, when the legendary Juan Valdez achieved power in 1952, his regime announced that the 3-mile limit was never meant to be considered a fixed and unalterable boundary, and that historical practice as well as the natural features of the area justified a 200-mile territorial sea which it intended to enforce. The dependence of the country on fish resources as the primary source of exports and national wealth (other than oil) was cited as further justification of the establishment of a 200-mile limit. Successive Ecuadorian presidents since Valdez reiterated the 200-mile limit, although the country was lax in enforcing it. Map1 Map2 Map3
It was during the Carlos Ruiz administration (1998–2004) that one Donald Thomas, a United States shipowner having commercial interests and property in Ecuador, began sending his vessels into the vicinity of Ecuador’s coastal waters to fish for tuna. On February 17, 2004, a Thomas-owned fleet of three tuna boats, all registered under the U.S. flag and manned by Americans, were fishing approximately 185 miles off-shore when an Ecuadorian naval vessel opened fire upon the three boats, after the latter ignored a signal to prepare to be searched. The boats headed out to sea and were pursued by the naval vessel, the Madera, which was joined by other government gunboats. Eventually, 20 miles later, the vessels caught up with the fugitive fleet and destroyed two boats, killing one of the crew members and wounding several others. In addition, one of the pursuers himself was killed when an American crewman resisted arrest as the former attempted to board the sole surviving craft, the Mercury. The Mercury was confiscated, the American crewmen were taken into custody and arraigned on charges of resisting arrest and manslaughter, and were imprisoned for five months while awaiting trial. They have since been sentenced to 10-year terms. In accordance with an Ecuadorian law that permits an alien to own property in the country only so long as his activities do not conflict with the laws of the State, Thomas’s holdings were confiscated by the Government.
Thomas asked the United States government to intercede on behalf of him and his crew in order to secure the latter’s release and to gain reparations for property loss and personal injury as well as restitution for improper confinement. The United States government agreed to do so, filing an application with the International Court of Justice on January 1, 2006, after failing to obtain satisfaction through other legal or diplomatic means. The United States called on Ecuador to respond and submit the dispute to the Court. Ecuador disputed the jurisdiction of the Court, claiming in a preliminary objection that it had not signed the optional clause giving the Court any jurisdiction in such matters. However, based on what it felt were strong arguments in its favor, Ecuador finally agreed to allow the Court to render a decision on the merits of the case.
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Larry Aspin aspin at bradley.edu
Dept of Political Science
Bradley University
