Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Belgium) fr

On 17 October 2000, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) filed an Application instituting proceedings against the Kingdom of Belgium. The Application was in respect to a dispute concerning an international arrest warrant issued on 11 April 2000 by a Belgian investigating judge against the Minister for Foreign Affairs in office of the DRC, Mr. Abdulaye Yerodia Ndombasi. The DRC contended that Belgium had violated the “principle that a State may not exercise its authority on the territory of another State”, as well as the Charter of the United Nations and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. On 14 February 2002, the Court found that the issue and international circulation by Belgium of the arrest warrant failed to respect the immunity from criminal jurisdiction and the inviolability which the incumbent Minister for Foreign Affairs of the DRC enjoyed under international law and that Belgium must cancel the arrest warrant.