One of the main functions of the International Court of Justice is to provide Advisory Opinions - non-binding legal interpretations admitted by United Nations organs. In the summer of 1975, the court considered two questions regarding the disputed territory of Western Sahara (then Spanish Sahara). The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled by Spain. ...

Background

Leading up to the advisory opinion, Spain had largely decolonized its foreign holdings, including much of Spanish Morocco, but had retained the Spanish Sahara. On December 20, 1966, UN General Assembly Resolution 2229 called on Spain to hold a referendum on self-determination in the region. For the better part of the decade, the country dragged its feet on the issue, and announced on August 20, 1974, that it would be held in the first six months of 1975 and took a census of the region in order to assess the voting population. Spanish Morocco, sometimes called Spanish Sahara, was the area of Morocco ruled by Spain from up to 1956, when France and Spain recognised Moroccan independence. ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Meanwhile, in Morocco, a nationalist movement had been opposing decolonization in the region (namely in Algeria and Mauritania) for 15 years, under the auspice of "reunifying" Greater Morocco. Consequently, the Moroccan position had been that it had rightful sovereignty over the region as its "Southern Provinces", demanding that it be given to Morocco in its entirety. In Mauritania, a smaller movement existed to overtake some amount of the territory, partitioning it with Morocco. In the early 1940s, the Moroccan nationalist party - Istiqlal - used the concept of Greater Morocco as a propaganda tool to rally support of Moroccan citizens against French colonial rule. ... The Moroccan name for Western Sahara. ...

Algerian-Moroccan relations had been strained since Algeria's independence in 1963, culminating in a brief border war, and a lack of normalized relations. Throughout the prior decade, Algeria had inconsistently supported the right of self-determination of the native Sahrawi people, and represented their interests in international forums. Among the people of the territory, a militia/political party known as Polisario (Spanish: "Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y Río de Oro" English: "Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro") was formed in 1973 to expel the Spaniards. They engaged in several low-level acts of property destruction, mostly localized around the Fosbucraa conveyor belt, which exported the rich phosphates to the Atlantic Ocean. 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sahrawi and Saharawi are terms most commonly used for the natives of the Morocco-administered Western Sahara. ... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Peoples Liberation Front of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro) is an army and political movement in the Western Sahara, principally... Río de Oro, is, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... Bou Craa (Bo Craa) is a town in northern Western Sahara, south and slightly west of the capital, Laayoune. ... In chemistry, a phosphate is a polyatomic ion or radical consisting of one phosphorus atom and four oxygen. ...

On September 17, 1974, fearing that a legally-binding referendum would cost him sovereignty over the region, King Hassan II announced his intention to bring the issue to the ICJ. In December, Spain agreed to delay the referendum pending the opinion of the court. They gave their support to ICJ submission on the grounds that it be a non-binding, advisory opinion, rather than a "contentious issue", where the ruling would oblige the interested states to act in a particular manner. September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... King Hassan II, pictured c. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ...

On December 13, the United Nations General Assembly voted on submission, resulting in UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), affirming it and defining the wording of the questions to be submitted. Algeria was among the nations voting in favor, and several Third World nations abstained. United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...

Submission

The Resolution stipulated that the dispute would be worded as such:

I. Was Western Sahara (Río de Oro and Sakiet El Hamra) at the time of colonization by Spain a territory belonging to no one (terra nullius)?

And, should the majority opinion be "no", the following would be addressed: Colonization (or colonisation) is the act where life forms move into a distant area where their kind is sparse or not yet existing at all and set up new settlements in the area. ... Terra nullius is a Latin expression meaning empty land or no mans land. The term refers to a 17th century doctrine that described land that was unclaimed by a sovereign recognised by European authorities and land that was not owned at all. ...

II. What were the legal ties between this territory and the Kingdom of Morocco and the Mauritanian entity?

In the meantime, Morocco and Mauritania jointly agreed to not contest the issue of partition or sovereignty, and set up a joint publishing propaganda operation to persuade public opinion against the Sahrawis. On January 16, 1975, Spain officially announced the suspension of the referendum plan, pending the opinion of the court. From May 12 through 19, a small investigative team made of citizens from Cuba, Iran, and Ivory Coast was sent into the region to assess public support for independence. They also performed inquiries in Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Spain. North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ... Côte dIvoire (often called Ivory Coast in English; see below about the name) is a country in West Africa. ...

In the summer, the questions were submitted by King Hassan II and the Kingdom of Spain. Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Spain were all given permission to present evidence at the hearings (the Polisario was locked out as only internationally-recognized states have a right to speak - Algeria largely represented the Sahrawis). Twenty-seven sessions were held in June and July before the Court called the proceedings final.

The arguments presented by Morocco and Mauritania were essentially similar: that either one had a sovereign right over the territory. In the case of Morocco, there was a sultanate established in the region and claimed the allegiance of a variety of tribes in surrounding territory. The modern Moroccan monarchy is derived from this sultanate. In the case of Mauritania, there was no clearly-defined state that existed at the time. Instead, Mauritania argued that a similar entity existed which they called "bilad Chinguetti". Spain argued against Moroccan sovereignty, citing the relationship that Spanish explorers and colonizers had established with the sultan, none of which ever recognized his authority over the region. Algeria also defended the position that the Sahrawis were a distinct people, and not under the subjection of Morocco or Mauritania. A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic monarch ruling under the terms of shariah. ... Chinguetti is a town in north western Mauritania, lying on the Adrar Plateau east of Atar. ...

The Opinion

On October 15, the UN mission published its findings, showing that the Sahrawi population were overwhelmingly in favor of independence from both Spain and Morocco/Mauritania. The next day, the Court published its opinion.

For the former question, the Court decided by a vote of 13 to three that the court could make a decision on the matter, and unanimously voted that the time of colonization (defined as November 28, 1884), the territory was not terra nullius (that is, the territory, did belong to someone). 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ...

For the latter question, the Court decided by a vote of 14 to two that it would decide. It was of the opinion, by 14 votes to two, that there were legal ties between this territory and the Kingdom of Morocco. Furthermore, it was of opinion, by 15 votes to one, that there were legal ties between this territory and the "Mauritanian entity". However, the Court defined the nature of these legal ties in the penultimate paragraph of its opinion, and declared that neither legal tie implied sovereignty or rightful ownership over the territory. These legal ties also did not apply to "self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory."

Results

The opinion of the Court was largely disregarded by the interested parties. As the Spanish withdrew from their garrisons in the latter part of the year and early 1976, Morocco's army moved in to take their place. On November 16, Mauritania, Morocco, and Spain signed the Madrid Accords, a secret agreement that partitioned the territory between the African states, and gave Spain a stake in the valuable phosphate deposits. 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. ...

Spain's last soldier departed the territory on February 26, 1976. The next day, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic was declared by Polisario representatives, and the flag of Western Sahara was flown in El Aaiún. Morocco intensified their military presence in the region, and by the end of the year, Mauritania and Morocco had partitioned the territory. Mauritania was too weak militarily and economically to compete against Polisario, though, and renounced their claims in 1978. Morocco immediately annexed that territory in addition. To this day, Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco, and Western Sahara (as the SADR) has been recognized by several dozen governments. For more information, see History of Western Sahara. February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Saharawi (or Sahrawi) Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is the long-form English translation of the government of Western Sahara. ... Flag of Western Sahara This is the flag of the Western Sahara. ... Laâyoune Laâyoune, also El Aaiún, is the unofficial capital of Western Sahara, a former Spanish country now mostly controlled and occupied by Morocco. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... This list includes only disputes between widely-recognized countries, and does not cover regions which have proclaimed independence but have not been recognized, nor regions which are seeking independence. ... Western Sahara is claimed and administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1976, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission MINURSO. The UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991. ... // Background The Western Sahara has never been a nation in the modern sense of the word. ...

External Links and Sources

• Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony? by Toby Shelley
• Western Sahara: Roots of a Desert War by Tony Hodges
• The on-line summary of the Advisory Opinion, from the ICJ web site