ICJ: Final Judgments for Higgins, Ranjeva, and Parra-Aranguren

President Rosalyn Higgins and Judges Raymond Ranjeva and Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren will leave the International Court of Justice on February 5th but not before participating in two final judgments. Later today, the Court will issue its judgment in the case concerning Request for Interpretation of the Judgment of 31 March 2004 in the Case concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America), and on February 3rd the Court will issue its judgment in the case concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine). These are the only two cases currently under deliberation, so it is no surprise that the Court would want to get these judgments out with a full bench. The fact that Maritime Delimitation will be the Court's one hundredth judgment since its inception might have been additional incentive. More interesting, though, is the timing of today's judgment in Request for Interpretation of the Avena Judgment - the day before a new president is inaugurated in the United States. One can't but suspect that this is not coincidence.