The International Court of Justice,

Composed as above,

After deliberation,

Having regard to Articles 41 and 48 of the Statute of the Court and Articles 73, 74 and 75 of the Rules of Court,

Makes the following Order:

"respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare:

1. That Azerbaijan is responsible for violating the CERD, including Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

2. That, as a consequence of its international responsibility for these breaches of the Convention, Azerbaijan must:

A. Cease forthwith any such ongoing internationally wrongful act and fully comply with its obligations under Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the CERD, including by:

― refraining from practices of ethnic cleansing against Armenians;

― refraining from engaging in, glorifying, rewarding or condoning acts of racism against Armenians, including Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons;

― refraining from engaging in or tolerating hate speech against Armenians, including in educational materials;

― refraining from suppressing the Armenian language, destroying Armenian cultural heritage or otherwise eliminating the existence of the historical Armenian cultural presence or inhibiting Armenians' access and enjoyment thereof;

― punishing all acts of racial discrimination, both public and private, against Armenians, including those taken by public officials;

― ensuring that the rights of Armenians, including Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons are upheld on an equal basis;

― adopting the laws necessary to uphold its obligations under the CERD;

― providing Armenians with equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice, and providing effective protection and remedies against acts of racial discrimination;

― refraining from hindering the registration and operation of NGOs and arresting, detaining and sentencing human rights activists or other individuals working towards reconciliation with Armenia and Armenians; and

― taking effective measures with a view to combatting prejudices against Armenians, and special measures for the purpose of securing their adequate advancement.

B. Make reparations for the injury caused by any such internationally wrongful act, including:

― by way of restitution, allowing the safe and dignified return of displaced Armenians to their homes, and restoring or returning any Armenian cultural and religious buildings and sites, artefacts or objects;

― providing additional forms of reparation for any harm, loss or injury suffered by Armenians that is not capable of full reparation by restitution, including by providing compensation to displaced Armenians until such time as it becomes safe for them to return to their homes.

C. Acknowledge its violations of the CERD and provide an apology to Armenia and Armenian victims of Azerbaijan's racial discrimination.

D. Offer assurances and guarantees of non-repetition of violations of its obligations under Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the CERD."

In its Application, Armenia seeks to found the Court's jurisdiction on Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Statute of the Court and on Article 22 of CERD.

The Application contained a Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted with reference to Article 41 of the Statute and to Articles 73, 74 and 75 of the Rules of Court.

― "Azerbaijan shall release immediately all Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees in its custody who were made captive during the September-November 2020 armed hostilities or their aftermath;

― Pending their release, Azerbaijan shall treat all Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees in its custody in accordance with its obligations under the CERD, including with respect to their right to security of person and protection by the State against all bodily harm, and permit independent medical and psychological evaluations for that purpose;

― Azerbaijan shall refrain from espousing hatred of people of Armenian ethnic or national origin, including by closing or suspending the activities of the Military Trophies Park;

― Azerbaijan shall protect the right to access and enjoy Armenian historic, cultural and religious heritage, including but not limited to, churches, cathedrals, places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and other buildings and artefacts, by inter alia terminating, preventing, prohibiting and punishing their vandalisation, destruction or alteration, and allowing Armenians to visit places of worship;

― Azerbaijan shall facilitate, and refrain from placing any impediment on, efforts to protect and preserve Armenian historic, cultural and religious heritage, including but not limited to churches, cathedrals, places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and other buildings and artefacts, relevant to the exercise of rights under the CERD;

― Azerbaijan shall take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of the CERD;

― Azerbaijan shall not take any action and shall assure that no action is taken which may aggravate or extend the existing dispute that is the subject of the Application, or render it more difficult to resolve; and

― Azerbaijan shall provide a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to its Order indicating provisional measures, no later than three months from its issuance and shall report thereafter to the Court every six months."

The Registrar immediately communicated to the Government of Azerbaijan the Application containing the Request for the indication of provisional measures, in accordance with Article 40, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court, and Article 73, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Court. He also notified the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the filing by Armenia of the Application and the Request for the indication of provisional measures.

Pending the notification provided for by Article 40, paragraph 3, of the Statute, the Registrar informed all States entitled to appear before the Court of the filing of the Application and the Request for the indication of provisional measures by a letter dated 22 September 2021.

Since the Court included upon the Bench no judge of the nationality of either Party, each Party proceeded to exercise the right conferred upon it by Article 31 of the Statute to choose a judge ad hoc to sit in the case. Armenia chose Mr. Yves Daudet and Azerbaijan Mr. Kenneth Keith.

By letters dated 27 September 2021, the Registrar informed the Parties that, pursuant to Article 74, paragraph 3, of its Rules, the Court had fixed 14 and 15 October 2021 as the dates for the oral proceedings on the Request for the indication of provisional measures.

On behalf of Armenia:
H.E. Mr. Yeghishe Kirakosyan,
Mr. Robert Kolb,
Mr. Constantinos Salonidis,
Mr. Sean Murphy,
Mr. Pierre d'Argent,
Mr. Lawrence H. Martin.

On behalf of Azerbaijan:
H.E. Mr. Elnur Mammadov,
Mr. Vaughan Lowe,
Mr. Peter Goldsmith,
Ms Laurence Boisson de Chazournes,
Ms Catherine Amirfar,
Mr. Donald Francis Donovan.

― "Azerbaijan shall release immediately all Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees in its custody who were made captive during the September-November 2020 armed hostilities or their aftermath;

― Pending their release, Azerbaijan shall treat all Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees in its custody in accordance with its obligations under the CERD, including with respect to their right to security of person and protection by the State against all bodily harm, and permit independent medical and psychological evaluations for that purpose;

― Azerbaijan shall refrain from espousing hatred of people of Armenian ethnic or national origin, including by closing or suspending the activities of the Military Trophies Park;

― Azerbaijan shall protect the right to access and enjoy Armenian historic, cultural and religious heritage, including but not limited to, churches, cathedrals, places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and other buildings and artefacts, by inter alia terminating, preventing, prohibiting and punishing their vandalisation, destruction or alteration, and allowing Armenians to visit places of worship;

― Azerbaijan shall facilitate, and refrain from placing any impediment on, efforts to protect and preserve Armenian historic, cultural and religious heritage, including but not limited to churches, cathedrals, places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and other buildings and artefacts, relevant to the exercise of rights under the CERD;

― Azerbaijan shall take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of the CERD;

― Azerbaijan shall not take any action and shall assure that no action is taken which may aggravate or extend the existing dispute that is the subject of the Application, or render it more difficult to resolve; and

― Azerbaijan shall provide a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to its Order indicating provisional measures, no later than three months from its issuance and shall report thereafter to the Court every six months."

*

* *

In the present case, Armenia seeks to found the jurisdiction of the Court on Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Statute of the Court and on Article 22 of CERD (see paragraph 3 above). The Court must therefore first determine whether those provisions prima facie confer upon it jurisdiction to rule on the merits of the case, enabling it — if the other necessary conditions are fulfilled — to indicate provisional measures.

"Any dispute between two or more States Parties with respect to the interpretation or application of this Convention, which is not settled by negotiation or by the procedures expressly provided for in this Convention, shall, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice for decision, unless the disputants agree to another mode of settlement."

In order to determine whether a dispute exists in the present case, the Court cannot limit itself to noting that one of the Parties maintains that the Convention applies, while the other denies it (see Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 July 2018, I.C.J. Reports 2018 (II), p. 414, para. 18). Since Armenia has invoked as the basis of the Court's jurisdiction the compromissory clause in an international convention, the Court must ascertain whether the acts and omissions complained of by the Applicant are capable of falling within the provisions of that instrument and whether, as a consequence, the dispute is one which the Court has jurisdiction ratione materiae to entertain (see ibid.).

Armenia alleges that Azerbaijan has acted and continues to act in violation of its obligations under Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of CERD. Armenia asserts that Azerbaijan bears responsibility, inter alia, for the inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners of war and civilian detainees of Armenian national or ethnic origin held in its custody; for engaging in practices of ethnic cleansing; for glorifying, rewarding and condoning acts of racism; for inciting racial hatred, giving as an example, mannequins depicting Armenian soldiers in a degrading way at the "Military Trophies Park" which opened in Baku in the aftermath of the 2020 Conflict; for facilitating, tolerating and failing to punish and prevent hate speech; and for systematically destroying and falsifying Armenian cultural sites and heritage.

In Azerbaijan's view, some of the measures requested by Armenia have in any event become moot. In particular, in addressing Armenia's request that the Court order Azerbaijan to close or suspend activities at the "Military Trophies Park", the Agent of Azerbaijan referred during the hearing to his "assurance [on the previous day] about the permanent removal of certain exhibits in the Trophies Park".

* *

Armenia claims that during these rounds of negotiations, the Parties' positions on the crucial points that divided them - namely whether Azerbaijan had violated its obligations under Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of CERD and whether it consequently owed reparation - did not change. Armenia further contends that, by 16 September 2021, the date on which it filed its Application, there was "no reasonable prospect" that the respective positions of the Parties would evolve, and that it thus considered that the negotiations had failed. In light of the impasse it describes, Armenia contends that the precondition of negotiations contained in Article 22 of CERD has thus been met.

*

Azerbaijan argues that a State is not entitled to bring a premature end to negotiations relating to alleged violations of obligations arising under CERD simply because it would rather raise these issues by means of proceedings before the Court. With regard to Armenia's position that the negotiations had reached an impasse, Azerbaijan states that it was not open to Armenia to make such a determination unilaterally, as the continuation of negotiations cannot be subject to "a right to exercise an unreasoned veto". In addition, according to Azerbaijan, Armenia's claim that the negotiations failed was based on Azerbaijan's refusal to accept that it had violated CERD, a claim which Azerbaijan considers both unreasonable and inappropriate, since "[a]cceptance of guilt as a threshold condition has no place in genuine negotiations". In sum, according to Azerbaijan, the record shows that it tried to engage in constructive negotiations whereas Armenia made no genuine attempt to do so. Azerbaijan concludes that the Court manifestly lacks jurisdiction either to determine the merits of the case or to order provisional measures because Armenia has failed to fulfil the precondition of negotiation contained in Article 22 of CERD.

Regarding the precondition of negotiation contained in Article 22 of CERD, the Court observes that negotiations are distinct from mere protests or disputations and require a genuine attempt by one of the parties to engage in discussions with the other party, with a view to resolving the dispute. Where negotiations are attempted or have commenced, the precondition of negotiation is met only when the attempt to negotiate has been unsuccessful or where negotiations have failed, become futile or deadlocked. In order to meet this precondition, "the subject-matter of the negotiations must relate to the subject-matter of the dispute which, in turn, must concern the substantive obligations contained in the treaty in question" (see Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 July 2018, I.C.J. Reports 2018 (II), p. 419, para. 36, citing Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation), Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2011 (I), p. 133, para. 161).

* *

The Applicant further maintains that the inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners of war and civilian detainees of Armenian national or ethnic origin by Azerbaijan violates Article 5 (b) of CERD, which protects the "right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm". It asserts that evidence in the case file establishes that "atrocious acts", including torture, targeting these persons, were committed with "clear hatred being shown to persons of Armenian origin". In Armenia's view, the treatment of prisoners of war and civilian detainees of Armenian national or ethnic origin before Azerbaijani courts "clearly implicates" Article 5 (a) of CERD which recognizes "[t]he right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice".

Armenia states that the rights of persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin not to be subject to racial hatred and racial hate speech are explicitly stated in Articles 2, 4 and 7 of CERD. It asserts that Azerbaijan, instead of respecting these rights, is violating them "on a daily basis through a constant rhetoric of hate". According to Armenia, this rhetoric "escalated" before and during the 2020 Conflict, and was employed by politicians and high-ranking officials, including the President of Azerbaijan. Armenia further refers to "the racist depictions of Armenian soldiers in denigrating and dehumanizing scenes" in Azerbaijan's "Military Trophies Park". Armenia thus contends that its "rights under Article 2, 4 and 7 of the Convention meet any threshold of plausibility for purposes of this phase of the proceedings".

Armenia also refers to the rights of persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin under Articles 2 and 5 of CERD to access and enjoy, without discrimination, their historic, cultural and religious heritage. More specifically, Armenia invokes Article 5 (d) (vii) which prohibits racial discrimination in relation to the right to freedom of religion and Article 5 (e) (vi) which guarantees the right to equal participation in cultural activities, which, according to Armenia, entails a right to the protection and preservation of Armenian historic, cultural and religious heritage. Armenia alleges that acts of destruction and vandalism have been perpetrated by "Azerbaijani soldiers and mercenaries" against Armenian religious and cultural heritage sites, and that acts of desecration of Armenian cemeteries and religious artefacts, such as the "khachkars" (or "cross-stones") have also occurred. Armenia further alleges that Azerbaijan, by carrying out what it calls restoration works on the cathedral of Shushi, has altered features characteristic of Armenian cultural heritage. Considering the alleged general context of anti-Armenian hatred, Armenia contends that the repeated destruction, alteration and desecration of Armenian cultural heritage and religious sites in territories controlled by Azerbaijan constitutes "racial discrimination" in breach of Articles 2 and 5 of CERD and therefore that its rights under these provisions are plausible.

Azerbaijan acknowledges that, as of 8 October 2021, 45 named individuals captured in relation to the 2020 Conflict remained in its custody. It asserts that these persons are not detained "on the basis of their national or ethnic origin" and maintains instead that they have been charged or convicted of serious offences including torture, murder or mercenarism. According to Azerbaijan, their detention is lawful under domestic and international law and does not have the "purpose or effect" of impairing their equal enjoyment of fundamental rights. It notes that "if Azerbaijan is engaged in a conflict with a wholly ethnically Armenian force, the detainees it holds are likely to be ethnically Armenian", but that this is not evidence of racial discrimination. Azerbaijan also underscores that it has "released or repatriated the vast majority of Armenians" (emphasis in the original) detained in relation to the 2020 hostilities, and stresses that the release of eight Armenian detainees in recent months was "not pursuant to a bargain with Armenia", confirming therefore that "Azerbaijan investigated in each case whether there is a basis for continued detention". Accordingly, Azerbaijan claims that the detention of individuals of Armenian ethnic or national origin cannot be regarded as "racial discrimination" within the meaning of Article 1 of CERD and thus cannot plausibly engage rights under the Convention.

Azerbaijan concludes that in the present case the Applicant has failed to show that it seeks to protect plausible rights on the merits in so far as it has not established that the acts complained of constitute acts of "racial discrimination" within the meaning of CERD.

"any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life".

Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the Convention, invoked by Armenia in its Application and for the purposes of its Request for the indication of provisional measures, read as follows:

"Article 2

1. States Parties condemn racial discrimination and undertake to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and promoting understanding among all races, and, to this end:

(a) Each State Party undertakes to engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions and to ensure that all public authorities and public institutions, national and local, shall act in conformity with this obligation;

(b) Each State Party undertakes not to sponsor, defend or support racial discrimination by any persons or organizations;

(c) Each State Party shall take effective measures to review governmental, national and local policies, and to amend, rescind or nullify any laws and regulations which have the effect of creating or perpetuating racial discrimination wherever it exists;

(d) Each State Party shall prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate means, including legislation as required by circumstances, racial discrimination by any persons, group or organization;

(e) Each State Party undertakes to encourage, where appropriate, integrationist multi-racial organizations and movements and other means of eliminating barriers between races, and to discourage anything which tends to strengthen racial division.

2. States Parties shall, when the circumstances so warrant, take, in the social, economic, cultural and other fields, special and concrete measures to ensure the adequate development and protection of certain racial groups or individuals belonging to them, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. These measures shall in no case entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate rights for different racial groups after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved.

Article 3

States Parties particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 4

States Parties condemn all propaganda and all organizations which are based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to justify or promote racial hatred and discrimination in any form, and undertake to adopt immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement to, or acts of, such discrimination and, to this end, with due regard to the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the rights expressly set forth in article 5 of this Convention, inter alia:

(a) Shall declare an offence punishable by law all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination, as well as all acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin, and also the provision of any assistance to racist activities, including the financing thereof;

(b) Shall declare illegal and prohibit organizations, and also organized and all other propaganda activities, which promote and incite racial discrimination, and shall recognize participation in such organizations or activities as an offence punishable by law;

(c) Shall not permit public authorities or public institutions, national or local, to promote or incite racial discrimination.

Article 5

In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:

(a) The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice;

(b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual group or institution;

(c) Political rights, in particular the right to participate in elections  to vote and to stand for election  on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct of public affairs at any level and to have equal access to public service;

(d) Other civil rights, in particular:

(i) The right to freedom of movement and residence within the border of the State;

(ii) The right to leave any country, including one's own, and to return to one's country;

(iii) The right to nationality;

(iv) The right to marriage and choice of spouse;

(v) The right to own property alone as well as in association with others;

(vi) The right to inherit;

(vii) The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;

(viii) The right to freedom of opinion and expression;

(ix) The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;

(e) Economic, social and cultural rights, in particular:

(i) The rights to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, to equal pay for equal work, to just and favourable remuneration;

(ii) The right to form and join trade unions;

(iii) The right to housing;

(iv) The right to public health, medical care, social security and social services;

(v) The right to education and training;

(vi) The right to equal participation in cultural activities;

(f) The right of access to any place or service intended for use by the general public, such as transport, hotels, restaurants, cafés, theatres and parks.

Article 6

States Parties shall assure to everyone within their jurisdiction effective protection and remedies, through the competent national tribunals and other State institutions, against any acts of racial discrimination which violate his human rights and fundamental freedoms contrary to this Convention, as well as the right to seek from such tribunals just and adequate reparation or satisfaction for any damage suffered as a result of such discrimination.

Article 7

States Parties undertake to adopt immediate and effective measures, particularly in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information, with a view to combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination and to promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations and racial or ethnical groups, as well as to propagating the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and this Convention."

In relation to persons that Armenia identifies as prisoners of war and civilian detainees taken captive during the 2020 Conflict or in its aftermath, Armenia asserts two distinct rights: the right to be repatriated and the right to be protected from inhuman or degrading treatment. The Court notes that international humanitarian law governs the release of persons fighting on behalf of one State who were detained during hostilities with another State. It also recalls that measures based on current nationality do not fall within the scope of CERD (Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates), Preliminary Objections, Judgment of 4 February 2021, para. 105). The Court does not consider that CERD plausibly requires Azerbaijan to repatriate all persons identified by Armenia as prisoners of war and civilian detainees. Armenia has not placed before the Court evidence indicating that these persons continue to be detained by reason of their national or ethnic origin. However, the Court finds plausible the right of such persons not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment based on their national or ethnic origin while being detained by Azerbaijan.

The Court also considers plausible the rights allegedly violated through incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination against persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin by high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan and through vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage.

The Court now turns to the condition of the link between the rights claimed by Armenia and the provisional measures requested. In this regard the Court recalls that at this stage of the proceedings only some of the rights claimed by Armenia have been found to be plausible. It will therefore limit itself to considering the existence of the requisite link between these rights and the measures requested by Armenia.

The Court, pursuant to Article 41 of its Statute, has the power to indicate provisional measures when irreparable prejudice could be caused to rights which are the subject of judicial proceedings or when the alleged disregard of such rights may entail irreparable consequences (see, for example, Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, I.C.J. Reports 2020, p. 24, para. 64, referring to Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), Provisional Measures, Order of 3 October 2018, I.C.J. Reports 2018 (II), p. 645, para. 77).

The Court is not called upon, for the purposes of its decision on the Request for the indication of provisional measures, to establish the existence of breaches of CERD, but to determine whether the circumstances require the indication of provisional measures for the protection of rights under this instrument. It cannot at this stage make definitive findings of fact, and the right of each Party to submit arguments in respect of the merits remains unaffected by the Court's decision on the Request for the indication of provisional measures.

"[a]mong allegations made by both sides, backed up by reputable international NGOs and a wealth of information available from different sources, there [is] worrying ... evidence of ... [a] substantial number of ... allegations of [systematic] inhuman and degrading treatment and torture of Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijanis".

The Court moreover observes that the Assembly "regrets that there remain statements at the highest level which continue to portray Armenians in an intolerant fashion".

"condemns the damage deliberately caused [by Azerbaijan] to [Armenian] cultural heritage during the 6-week war, and what appears to be the deliberate shelling of the Gazanchi Church/Holy Saviour, Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha/Shushi as well as the destruction or damage of other churches and cemeteries during and after the conflict; remains concerned, in the light of past destruction, about the future of the many Armenian churches, monasteries, including the monastery in Khutavank/Dadivank, cross-stones and other forms of cultural heritage which have returned under Azerbaijan control; [and] expresses concern about a developing narrative in Azerbaijan promoting a 'Caucasian Albanian' heritage to replace what is seen as an 'Armenian' cultural heritage" (Resolution 2391 (2021), text adopted by the Assembly on 27 September 2021, 24th sitting).

The Court further recalls that Armenia requested it to indicate provisional measures directing Azerbaijan "to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of CERD" and to provide regular reports on the implementation of provisional measures. The Court, however, considers that, in the particular circumstances of the case, these measures are not warranted.

The Court reaffirms that its "orders on provisional measures under Article 41 [of the Statute] have binding effect" (LaGrand (Germany v. United States of America), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2001, p. 506, para. 109) and thus create international legal obligations for any party to whom the provisional measures are addressed.

The Court further reaffirms that the decision given in the present proceedings in no way prejudges the question of the jurisdiction of the Court to deal with the merits of the case or any questions relating to the admissibility of the Application or to the merits themselves. It leaves unaffected the right of the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to submit arguments in respect of those questions.