International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States

E846823

International Court of Justice case contentious case inter-state dispute

The International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States was a landmark 1980s legal dispute in which Nicaragua successfully challenged U.S. support for Contra rebels and other interventions as violations of international law.

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All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America)	1
International Court of Justice asserted jurisdiction despite U.S. objections	1
International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States canonical	1
Nicaragua v. U.S.	1
Nicaragua v. United States	1
Nicaragua v. United States of America (ICJ, 1986)	1
United States was obliged to make reparation to Nicaragua	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T10198823 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States
Context triple: [Nicaraguan Civil War, significantEvent, International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States]

A. International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953)
The International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953) was a territorial dispute in which the ICJ adjudicated sovereignty over the Channel Islands groups of Les Écréhous and Minquiers between the two states.
B. International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Western Sahara (1975)
The International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Western Sahara (1975) was a landmark legal ruling that concluded Western Sahara was not terra nullius at the time of Spanish colonization and affirmed the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination.
C. International Court of Justice ruling of 2009
The International Court of Justice ruling of 2009 is a judgment by the UN’s principal judicial organ that settled a maritime boundary dispute between Romania and Ukraine in the Black Sea, clarifying the legal impact of Snake Island on the delimitation.
D. The Gambia v. Myanmar
The Gambia v. Myanmar is an ongoing case before the International Court of Justice in which The Gambia accuses Myanmar of violating the Genocide Convention through its treatment of the Rohingya population.
E. Statute of the International Court of Justice
The Statute of the International Court of Justice is the foundational treaty that establishes the Court’s structure, jurisdiction, and procedures as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States
Target entity description: The International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States was a landmark 1980s legal dispute in which Nicaragua successfully challenged U.S. support for Contra rebels and other interventions as violations of international law.

A. International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953)
The International Court of Justice case France v. United Kingdom (1953) was a territorial dispute in which the ICJ adjudicated sovereignty over the Channel Islands groups of Les Écréhous and Minquiers between the two states.
B. International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Western Sahara (1975)
The International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Western Sahara (1975) was a landmark legal ruling that concluded Western Sahara was not terra nullius at the time of Spanish colonization and affirmed the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination.
C. International Court of Justice ruling of 2009
The International Court of Justice ruling of 2009 is a judgment by the UN’s principal judicial organ that settled a maritime boundary dispute between Romania and Ukraine in the Black Sea, clarifying the legal impact of Snake Island on the delimitation.
D. The Gambia v. Myanmar
The Gambia v. Myanmar is an ongoing case before the International Court of Justice in which The Gambia accuses Myanmar of violating the Genocide Convention through its treatment of the Rohingya population.
E. Statute of the International Court of Justice
The Statute of the International Court of Justice is the foundational treaty that establishes the Court’s structure, jurisdiction, and procedures as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (59)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	International Court of Justice case ⓘ contentious case ⓘ inter-state dispute ⓘ
allegation	breach of the principle of non-intervention ⓘ breach of the prohibition on the use of force ⓘ unlawful intervention by the United States in the internal affairs of Nicaragua ⓘ unlawful use of force by the United States against Nicaragua ⓘ violation of Nicaraguan sovereignty by the United States ⓘ violation of the 1956 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation ⓘ
applicantState	Republic of Nicaragua ⓘ linked to: Nicaragua
concerns	U.S. military and paramilitary activities against Nicaragua ⓘ U.S. mining of Nicaraguan ports ⓘ U.S. support for Contra rebels in Nicaragua ⓘ
dateFiled	1984-04-09 ⓘ
decade	1980s ⓘ
finding	U.S. mining of Nicaraguan ports violated international law ⓘ U.S. support for the Contras amounted to a use of force ⓘ United States breached certain obligations under the 1956 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation ⓘ United States breached its obligations under customary international law ⓘ United States violated its obligation not to intervene in the affairs of another state ⓘ United States violated its obligation not to use force against another state ⓘ United States violated its obligation to respect the sovereignty of Nicaragua ⓘ United States was obliged to make reparation to Nicaragua ⓘ linked to: International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States
heardBy	International Court of Justice ⓘ
importance	illustrative case on enforcement limits of ICJ judgments against powerful states ⓘ landmark case on the use of force in international law ⓘ leading authority on customary international law and the UN Charter ⓘ major precedent on the principle of non-intervention ⓘ
judgmentDate	1986-06-27 ⓘ
legalBasis	Statute of the International Court of Justice ⓘ Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the United States and Nicaragua (1956) ⓘ United Nations Charter ⓘ linked to: Charter of the United Nations customary international law on the use of force ⓘ
officialName	Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America) ⓘ linked to: International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States
phase	jurisdiction and admissibility phase ⓘ merits phase ⓘ reparations phase ⓘ
proceduralHistory	International Court of Justice asserted jurisdiction despite U.S. objections ⓘ linked to: International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States United States contested the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice ⓘ linked to: Connally Reservation to U.S. acceptance of International Court of Justice jurisdiction United States did not participate in the merits phase of the proceedings ⓘ United States withdrew its acceptance of the ICJ compulsory jurisdiction in 1985 ⓘ
relatedConflict	Contra war in Nicaragua ⓘ
relatedOrganization	United Nations General Assembly ⓘ United Nations Security Council ⓘ
remedyOrdered	United States must cease and refrain from unlawful use of force against Nicaragua ⓘ United States must make reparation to Nicaragua for all injury caused ⓘ
respondentState	United States of America ⓘ
shortName	Nicaragua v. U.S. ⓘ linked to: International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States Nicaragua v. United States ⓘ linked to: International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States
subjectMatter	customary international law ⓘ intervention in internal affairs ⓘ law of the United Nations Charter ⓘ military activities ⓘ paramilitary activities ⓘ state responsibility ⓘ use of force ⓘ
timePeriod	Cold War ⓘ
yearFiled	1984 ⓘ
yearOfJudgment	1986 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Nicaraguan Civil War → significantEvent → International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States ⓘ

Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter → invokedIn → Nicaragua v. United States of America (ICJ, 1986) ⓘ