CORFU CHANNEL CASE (1946)

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND V. ALBANIA

FACTS
On May 15th 1946 the British naval warships went across the Corfu Channel without the
permission of the Albanian government and were fired upon by Albanian coastal batteries.
Afterwards, on October 22nd, 1946, the United Kingdom sent a flotilla of ships through the
Corfu Channel, which was then considered international waters. As the ships passed through the
channel, they were struck by mines that had been laid by Albania. Two British ships were
damaged, and 44 sailors were killed.
On 22nd October, the United Kingdom Government sent a note to the Albanian Government
asserting its intention to sweep the Corfu Channel shortly. Concurrently, at the United Kingdom
Government’s request, the International Central Mine Clearance Board decided, in a resolution
of November 1st, 1946, that there should be a further sweep of the Channel, subject to Albania’s
consent. Albanian government however expressed they will not give its consent to mine
sweeping unless the operation in it waters and that any minesweeping carried on without the
permission of the Albanian Government inside Albanian territorial waters will be regarded as a
deliberate violation of Albanian sovereignty and territory. The British Royal Navy in November
carried out the minesweeping against the wishes of the Albanian Government. A case was
brought before the Court on May 22nd, 1947, by the Government of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland instituting proceedings against the Government of the
People’s Republic of Albania. Albania argued that it was not responsible for the mines, and that
the UK had no right to pass through the channel without its permission.
ISSUES
1. Whether Albania is responsible under international law for the mine explosions which
occurred and for the damage of machinery and loss of human lives which resulted due to it?
2. Whether the United Kingdom has violated the sovereignty of Albania by reason of
minesweeping operation without consent of the Albanian Government?
HOLDING
The Court found that Albania had violated international law by laying mines in the Corfu
Channel without warning, which damaged British ships and killed 44 sailors, and held that the
United Kingdom did not breach the sovereignty of Albania due to the acts of the British Royal
Navy in Albanian waters on October 22nd, 1946.The court ordered Albania to pay £844,000
reparations to the UK.
However, the British Royal operation of minesweeping in November 1946, violated the
sovereignty of Albania as this operation did not have the permission of international mine
clearance organizations, could not be justified as the exercise of a right of innocent passage, and
international law prohibits a state to assemble a fleet in the territorial waters of another state and
to carry out minesweeping in those waters.
COMMENTS
The case helped in establishing the principle that states have a duty to inform other states of any
dangers they create in international waters, and that failure to do so can be a violation of
international law.