The Republic of Nicaragua v.

The United
States of America (1986) ICJ 1 is a public
international law case decided by
the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The
ICJ ruled in favor of Nicaragua and against
the United States and awarded reparations to
Nicaragua. The ICJ held that the U.S. had
violated international
law by supporting the Contras in their rebellion
against the Nicaraguan government and
by mining Nicaragua's harbors. The United
States refused to participate in the
proceedings after the Court rejected its
argument that the ICJ lacked jurisdiction to
hear the case. The U.S. also blocked
enforcement of the judgment by the United
Nations Security Council and thereby
prevented Nicaragua from obtaining any
compensation.[2] Nicaragua, under the later,
post-FSLNgovernment of Violeta Chamorro,
withdrew the complaint from the court in
September 1992 following a repeal of the law
which had required the country to seek
compensation.[3]
The Court found in its verdict that the United
States was "in breach of its obligations under
customary international law not to use force
against another State", "not to intervene in its
affairs", "not to violate its sovereignty", "not to
interrupt peaceful maritime commerce", and
"in breach of its obligations under Article XIX
of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and
Navigation between the Parties signed
at Managua on 21 January 1956."
The Court had 16 final decisions upon which it
voted. In Statement 9, the Court stated that
while the U.S. encouraged human
rightsviolations by the Contras by the manual
entitled Psychological Operations in Guerrilla
Warfare, this did not make such acts
attributable to the U.S.[4]