International Court of Justice
Topic 1: Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (D.R.C. v. Uganda)
The Second Congo War was one of the most intense conflicts since World War II, encompassing multiple states and non-state actors across Central Africa. It led to the filing of what today is known as Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Uganda). In this thrilling landmark case, the Democratic Republic of the Congo accused Uganda of unlawful invasion, occupation, human rights violations, and the plunder of its natural resources, even citing Uganda’s seizure of the Inga hydroelectric dam as causing massive civilian suffering. Uganda maintained the argument that its actions were primarily based in self-defense and efforts towards regional stabilisation. The International Court of Justice’s 2005 judgment and 2022 reparations ruling confronted core questions: the limits of self-defense in international charters, the meaning of sovereignty during regional conflict, and state accountability for humanitarian violations. For NAMUN delegates, this case offers a rare opportunity to engage deeply with the interdisciplinary issues of conflict, reparations, resource seizure, domination, even aviation and diplomatic law, and international responsibility. From assessing the seizure of a dam to arguing for the right to invade a sovereign nation, delegates will have the chance to cultivate careful legal reasoning and nuanced diplomacy, to argue for either Uganda or the D.R.C. in one of the UN’s most complex legal cases known today.
How far can self-defense be extended as a legal argument, when insurgents cross borders? What does this prosecution look like in court? The opening for reparations will encourage delegates to take a step beyond a simple verdict in court, encouraging them to envision reparations as solution oriented assets, prioritising the development and civillians of the D.R.C., or Uganda, today.
Topic 2: Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America)
Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America) has always been a debated case in international law. An intense clash that pitted a small Central American nation, Nicaragua, against the main superpower at the peak of the Cold War. Filed in 1986, Nicaragua charged the United States with the accusation of waging an unlawful proxy war: mining its harbors, funding and training the Contras, and violating its sovereignty in direct defiance of the UN Charter and customary international law. Washington countered with claims of collective self-defense, ideological necessity against communism, and the protection of democracy in the Western Hemisphere. The International Court of Justice’s judgment contemplated: What are the limits of force under Article 2(4)? How far does the right of self-defense under Article 51 extend? And what happens when a colonial power like the United States refuses to appear before an International Court or comply with its orders?
This case offers electric opportunities for delegates to explore the interdisciplinary topics of international law, humanitarian law, mining law, sovereignty, ideological resistance, and more. It invites delegates to interpret covert operations conducted by the CIA, proxy warfare and exploration of evidence between ships records to contra fund. The fragility of international norms is as urgent today as in the 1980s, and delegates will craft legal arguments, navigate high-stakes diplomacy and the consequences, while balancing strategic interest. Joining this case is diving directly between law and power, where your reasoning and creativity tilts the scales of global justice here at NAMUN.