11 November 2013
ICJ recalls obligation of Cambodia, Thailand and the international community to cooperate to protect the Temple of Preah Vihear
In its judgment of 11 November on the Request for Interpretation of the Judgment of 15 June 1962 in the Case concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand), the International Court of Justice, apart from deciding that Cambodia had sovereignty over the whole territory of the promontory of Preah Vihear, noted that the Temple of Preah Vihear is a site of religious and cultural significance for the peoples of the region and is now listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site. It recalled that under Article 6 of the World Heritage Convention, to which both states are parties, ‘Cambodia and Thailand must co-operate between themselves and with the international community in the protection of the site as a world heritage. In addition, each State is under an obligation not to “take any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly” such heritage’.