Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs when Ireland intends to make a declaration recognising the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice under Article 36, paragraph 2 of that instrument. [39272/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland became a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice upon joining the United Nations in 1955, an act fully consistent with Ireland's commitment, under Article 29.2 of the Constitution, to the peaceful settlement of international disputes. In view of the possible implications of doing so at the time, Ireland did not then make a declaration under Article 36(2) of the statute accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the court.

In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement outlined an agreed position, based on the principles of self-determination and consent, on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. The Agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed by the people of Ireland, North and South, in referendums on 22 May 1998. Since an international agreement, the British-Irish Agreement, now gives effect to the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, including on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, the Government is favourably disposed to accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. The full implications of making such a declaration, and the question of what, if any, conditions or reservations should attach to it, are nevertheless complex matters which require careful study. Consideration of the modalities and implications of making such a declaration is currently under way within my Department.

It should be borne in mind that, pending the making of such a declaration, the court may nevertheless exercise jurisdiction in disputes where there is a specific agreement between the parties that the court should do so or where specific treaties so provide. It should also be borne in mind that other forms of dispute settlement may be more suitable in certain cases.