Jurisdictional Entanglement: the Relationship between the Jurisdiction over a Dispute and the Jurisdiction to Assess Compliance with Provisional Measures

This article examines the character, legal basis, and scope of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to make findings concerning compliance with its orders on provisional measures. The article focuses on the relationship between this jurisdiction (“non-compliance jurisdiction”) and the jurisdiction over the principal dispute (“principal jurisdiction”). It argues that, while the two types of jurisdiction are established independently from each other, their exercise may be intertwined where the provisional measures indicated prescribe obligations materially similar to the ones forming the subject-matter of the principal dispute. The absorption of non-compliance jurisdiction by principal jurisdiction in such cases may have consequences on its exercise, especially where principal jurisdiction is absent.