Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan) and (Azerbaijan v. Armenia): cultural heritage claims, provisional measures of 7 December 2021 and current status

International court case · International Court of Justice · ICJ General List No. 180 (Armenia v. Azerbaijan); No. 181 (Azerbaijan v. Armenia)

2021-09-16 (Armenia's Application); 2021-09-23 press release for Azerbaijan's Application – not established (no discontinuance listed on ICJ case pages as retrieved 2026-10-15)

Summary

Armenia v. Azerbaijan (ICJ case no. 180) and Azerbaijan v. Armenia (case no. 181) are two separate cases brought under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) after the 2020 conflict; each State accuses the other of discrimination, and each case includes allegations about cultural heritage. Armenia alleges, among other things, that Azerbaijan has destroyed or vandalised Armenian cultural and religious heritage; Azerbaijan alleges the destruction, vandalism and desecration of Azerbaijani cultural monuments and heritage sites by Armenia. These are the parties' allegations, and the Court has made no finding on them. On 7 December 2021 the Court, at the provisional-measures stage, ordered Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage (thirteen votes to two). On 12 November 2024 the Court gave judgments on preliminary objections in both cases, rejecting Azerbaijan's first two preliminary objections (by sixteen votes to one and fifteen votes to two) and finding that it has jurisdiction under Article 22 of CERD in Armenia v. Azerbaijan (fifteen votes to two) and, in Azerbaijan v. Armenia, upholding two of Armenia's three preliminary objections and finding jurisdiction subject to those two points. The Court reaffirmed the 7 December 2021 measures on 12 October 2022 when it declined to modify them. As retrieved on 15 October 2026, the ICJ case pages list no discontinuance in either case: the latest listed item in each is an order of 17 December 2025 fixing time-limits for a Reply and Rejoinder. A peace agreement text initialed on 8 August 2025 contains a provision (Article XV) for the withdrawal of interstate claims, but it has not been signed or ratified, so it had not entered into force on the sources read. In November 2025 Armenia's Representative on International Legal Matters was reported as saying that no lawsuit had been withdrawn.

Sources: International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, JAMnews, Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (CACI), 24 News HD (credited to INP), International Court of Justice, OC Media

Legal basis

The Court's jurisdiction in both cases rests on Article 36(1) of the ICJ Statute and Article 22 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD, adopted 21 December 1965 by General Assembly resolution 2106 (XX)). Article 22 sends a dispute between States Parties "with respect to the interpretation or application of this Convention" that is "not settled by negotiation or by the procedures expressly provided for in this Convention" to the ICJ at the request of any party to the dispute, unless they agree on another mode of settlement. Article 1(1) defines racial discrimination as "any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin" that nullifies or impairs equal enjoyment of human rights; Article 5 requires States to guarantee equality before the law in the enjoyment of listed rights, including (5(e)(vi)) "the right to equal participation in cultural activities". CERD is an anti-discrimination treaty and not a heritage-protection treaty: in its 2024 judgment the Court stated that its jurisdiction "is limited by Article 22 of CERD to Armenia's claims under that Convention" (para. 77), and that "the protection against racial discrimination provided by CERD continues to apply in armed conflict" (para. 77). In its Order of 7 December 2021 the Court indicated provisional measures under Article 41 of the Statute after concluding that, prima facie, it has jurisdiction under Article 22 of CERD (para. 43), finding that "at least some of the rights claimed by Armenia are plausible rights under the Convention" (para. 59), including the rights allegedly violated "through vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage" (para. 61), and finding a risk of irreparable prejudice and urgency (paras. 81-88; para. 81 refers to the rights in Article 5(a)-(e)).

Sources: International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Outcome

ORDER OF 7 DECEMBER 2021 (Armenia v. Azerbaijan, provisional measures, para. 98): Azerbaijan shall, in accordance with its CERD obligations, (a) by fourteen votes to one, protect from violence and bodily harm all persons captured in relation to the 2020 conflict who remain in detention and ensure their security and equality before the law; (b) unanimously, take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination targeted at persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin; (c) by thirteen votes to two (Judge Yusuf and Judge ad hoc Keith against), "take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts". Both Parties were also unanimously ordered to refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute. The Court's reasoning is that Armenia's claimed rights were plausible and that there was a risk of irreparable prejudice and urgency (paras 59, 61, 84, 88); a provisional-measures order is not a decision on the merits and does not find that any act of vandalism or desecration occurred or that Azerbaijan is responsible. ORDER OF 12 OCTOBER 2022 (Armenia v. Azerbaijan): on a request to modify the 7 December 2021 order (the request concerned the measure on detainees), the Court by thirteen votes to three found that circumstances did not require it to modify the measures, and unanimously reaffirmed the measures indicated on 7 December 2021 (para. 23); this order was read through a summarising tool. Later orders of 22 February, 6 July and 17 November 2023 in case 180 are listed on the ICJ site but were not read. JUDGMENT OF 12 NOVEMBER 2024 (Armenia v. Azerbaijan, preliminary objections, para. 105): first objection rejected (sixteen votes to one, Judge ad hoc Koroma against); second objection rejected (fifteen votes to two, Judge Yusuf and Judge ad hoc Koroma against); the Court "finds that it has jurisdiction, on the basis of Article 22" of CERD to entertain Armenia's Application of 16 September 2021 (fifteen votes to two). The Court stated that CERD protection "continues to apply in armed conflict" (para. 77). The judgment recites Armenia's cultural-heritage claims (para. 25-26) but makes no merits finding on them; the merits remain undecided. JUDGMENT OF 12 NOVEMBER 2024 (Azerbaijan v. Armenia, para. 101): Armenia's first (temporal) objection upheld by fourteen votes to three (acts from 23 July 1993 to 15 September 1996); second objection rejected (sixteen to one); third objection (environmental harm) upheld by twelve votes to five; jurisdiction under Article 22 found unanimously subject to points 1 and 3. The Court recited Azerbaijan's claims on Azerbaijani cultural heritage (paras 17-18) without ruling on them at the preliminary-objections stage. CURRENT STATUS (as retrieved 15 October 2026): the ICJ case pages and orders listings for cases 180 and 181 list no discontinuance, withdrawal or removal from the List; the most recent listed document in each is the Order of 17 December 2025 ("Fixing of time-limits: Reply and Rejoinder"), whose text was not read. The written proceedings therefore appear to be continuing. Karen Andreasyan, Armenia's Representative on International Legal Matters, was reported on 5-6 November 2025 as saying that Armenia had withdrawn no lawsuit and that none was being discussed. The initialed peace agreement (8 August 2025) contains an Article XV on withdrawing interstate claims, but according to the sources read it has not been signed or ratified (CACI Analyst, 15 January 2026; a news item of 15 October 2026 reporting statements by Armenia's Prime Minister), and an academic post of 11 August 2026 still described withdrawal as an 'announced intention'. The premise that the cases have been withdrawn is therefore not confirmed. The ICJ pages were read only through a summarising tool and the Court's press-release listing could not be opened, so a very recent entry cannot be fully excluded.

Sources: International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, OC Media, JAMnews, Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (CACI), Strasbourg Observers, 24 News HD (credited to INP), International Court of Justice, OC Media

Timeline

16 September 2021
Armenia files its Application
Armenia instituted proceedings against Azerbaijan under Article 36(1) of the ICJ Statute and Article 22 of CERD. According to the Registry's press release No. 2021/20, Armenia alleges that Azerbaijan has discriminated against ethnic Armenians and violated Articles 2 to 7 of CERD, and requested provisional measures. The Court's 2024 judgment records that Armenia's Application asked the Court, among other things, for Azerbaijan to refrain from "destroying Armenian cultural heritage" and to restore or return Armenian cultural and religious buildings, sites, artefacts or objects (para. 25). These are Armenia's claims, not findings.
Sources: International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice
23 September 2021
Azerbaijan files its own Application against Armenia
Azerbaijan instituted separate proceedings (case no. 181) on the same basis. According to press release No. 2021/21, Azerbaijan alleges that Armenia discriminates against Azerbaijanis and incites hatred, and refers to "ethnic cleansing, cultural erasure and fomenting of hatred". These are Azerbaijan's allegations.
Sources: International Court of Justice
7 December 2021
Order on provisional measures in Armenia v. Azerbaijan
The Court indicated provisional measures. Among them, by thirteen votes to two (Judge Yusuf and Judge ad hoc Keith against), Azerbaijan was to "take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts". The Court did so after finding that rights invoked by Armenia were plausible and that there was a risk of irreparable prejudice and urgency; it did not decide whether any such acts occurred.
Sources: International Court of Justice
7 December 2021
Order on provisional measures in Azerbaijan v. Armenia
In the companion case, the Court unanimously indicated that Armenia was to take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred targeted at persons of Azerbaijani national or ethnic origin, and that both Parties refrain from any action that might aggravate or extend the dispute. The press release does not mention cultural heritage.
Sources: International Court of Justice
12 October 2022
Order in Armenia v. Azerbaijan on a request to modify the 7 December 2021 measures
On a request to modify the Order of 7 December 2021 (the request concerned the measure on detainees), the Court by thirteen votes to three found that circumstances did not require it to modify the measures, and unanimously reaffirmed the provisional measures indicated on 7 December 2021. This is a provisional-measures order, not a decision on the merits.
Sources: International Court of Justice
21 April 2023
Azerbaijan files preliminary objections (Armenia v. Azerbaijan)
The Court's judgment records that Azerbaijan raised its preliminary objections on 21 April 2023, and that in its final submissions it asked the Court to dismiss Armenia's Application in its entirety on the ground that none of Armenia's claims was properly before it (paras 15, 27, 30). The judgment also recites, among Armenia's Memorial submissions, one concerning acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage (para. 26, item (11)(c)); that is Armenia's allegation, not a finding.
Sources: International Court of Justice
15-19 April 2024
Public hearings on Azerbaijan's preliminary objections
The Court held public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by Azerbaijan on 15, 16, 17 and 19 April 2024.
Sources: International Court of Justice
12 November 2024
Judgment on preliminary objections in Armenia v. Azerbaijan
By sixteen votes to one (Judge ad hoc Koroma against) the Court rejected Azerbaijan's first objection (negotiation precondition); by fifteen votes to two (Judge Yusuf and Judge ad hoc Koroma against) it rejected the second objection (that some claims fall outside CERD); and by fifteen votes to two (same judges against) it found that it has jurisdiction under Article 22 of CERD to entertain Armenia's Application of 16 September 2021. The judgment makes no findings on the merits, including on cultural heritage.
Sources: International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice
12 November 2024
Judgment on preliminary objections in Azerbaijan v. Armenia
The Court upheld Armenia's first objection (temporal; fourteen votes to three), rejected the second (sixteen votes to one), upheld the third (environmental harm; twelve votes to five), and unanimously found that it has jurisdiction under Article 22 of CERD subject to points 1 and 3. On the first objection it held that it lacks jurisdiction ratione temporis over claims based on acts between 23 July 1993 and 15 September 1996 (para. 63). The judgment recites Azerbaijan's claims about the destruction of Azerbaijani heritage sites and of "Azerbaijani cultural monuments" (paras 17-18); the Court did not rule on those claims at this stage.
Sources: International Court of Justice
8 August 2025
Peace agreement initialed in Washington
Armenia and Azerbaijan initialed the text of the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations at a meeting in Washington on 8 August 2025 (reported). The text was initialed, not signed.
Sources: OC Media, Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (CACI)
11 August 2025
Initialed text published
The initialed text was published on 11 August 2025. Article XV, as reproduced by JAMnews, provides that the parties shall withdraw, dismiss or otherwise settle interstate claims and not initiate such claims again; OC Media reports a one-month period running from entry into force. Entry into force follows an exchange of instruments notifying completion of internal procedures (Article XVI, as reproduced).
Sources: OC Media, JAMnews
5 November 2025
Armenian official reportedly says no lawsuit has been withdrawn
OC Media reported that Karen Andreasyan, Armenia's Representative on International Legal Matters, told reporters that Armenia was not discussing withdrawing its lawsuits against Azerbaijan and had received no proposal to withdraw from any case. This is a reported statement by one party's official, not a record of the Court.
Sources: OC Media
17 December 2025
Orders fixing time-limits for Reply and Rejoinder
The ICJ lists an Order of 17 December 2025 titled "Fixing of time-limits: Reply and Rejoinder" in each of the two cases (nos. 180 and 181). The text of the orders was not read, so the dates fixed are not stated here.
Sources: International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice
15 October 2026
Status as retrieved for this entry
On the ICJ case pages retrieved on 15 October 2026, the latest listed entry in each case is the order of 17 December 2025 and no discontinuance or removal from the List is listed. A news item of 15 October 2026 reports that the peace agreement has not been signed or ratified.
Sources: International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice, 24 News HD (credited to INP)

Interpretation

Attributed analysis, not established fact

Opinions appended to the 12 November 2024 judgment (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), as described in the Court's own Registry summary: Judge Yusuf (dissenting in part) said the judgment does not test Armenia's allegations against the two requirements of Article 1(1) of CERD and warned that it "opens the gates of CERD to all kinds of claims"; Judge Iwasawa (separate opinion) wrote that the "capable of" test should not mean that jurisdiction exists whenever there is "the slightest possibility" that the facts fall under the treaty; Judge ad hoc Koroma (dissenting) argued that the Court should not exercise jurisdiction and that the dispute concerns the status of Nagorno-Karabakh/Garabagh, a territorial matter, rather than the interpretation or application of CERD. These are individual judges' views, not the Court's holding.

Sources: International Court of Justice

Connected pages

Armenia — applicant in Armenia v. Azerbaijan; respondent in Azerbaijan v. Armenia
Azerbaijan — respondent in Armenia v. Azerbaijan; applicant in Azerbaijan v. Armenia

Sources

Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan): case page — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: ICJ case page (case no. 180). As retrieved on 2026-10-15 (re-fetched by the verifier) its most recent listed entry is the Order of 17 December 2025 (time-limits: Reply and Rejoinder); no entry on discontinuance, withdrawal or removal from the List is listed. Read via a summarising fetch tool; the ICJ press-release listing could not be opened, so a very recent entry cannot be fully excluded.
Case 180 (Armenia v. Azerbaijan): orders listing — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Listing of nine orders from 7 December 2021 to 17 December 2025; none on discontinuance or removal from the List. Titles only; the text of the 17 December 2025 order was not read (documents blocked). Read via summarising fetch tool.
Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Azerbaijan v. Armenia) (case no. 181): orders listing — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Listing of six orders from 7 December 2021 to 17 December 2025; none on discontinuance or removal from the List. Titles only; the 17 December 2025 order text was not read. Read via summarising fetch tool.
Armenia v. Azerbaijan, Order of 7 December 2021 (request for the indication of provisional measures) — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: The Court's order. Operative paragraph 98 (votes 14-1, unanimous, 13-2, unanimous) and paras 43, 59, 61, 81-88 re-checked on 2026-10-15 against the page text. The last c.1,400 characters of the page were navigation text. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages, so exact quotations should still be compared with the PDF before approval. The printed ICJ Reports citation could not be confirmed and is not given.
Armenia v. Azerbaijan, Judgment of 12 November 2024 (preliminary objections raised by Azerbaijan) — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: The Court's judgment. Operative paragraph 105 votes (16-1; 15-2; 15-2) and paras 15, 24-27, 30, 77 re-checked on 2026-10-15. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages, so exact quotations should still be compared with the PDF before approval.
Armenia v. Azerbaijan, Summary of the Judgment of 12 November 2024 — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Registry summary of the judgment (not part of the judgment itself). Used for the summary of the Court's reasoning and the separate opinions of Judges Yusuf, Iwasawa and Judge ad hoc Koroma. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages, so quotations and paragraph numbers must be re-checked against the original PDF before approval.
Press release (Armenia v. Azerbaijan): Court rejects the preliminary objections raised by Azerbaijan, 12 November 2024 — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Registry press release; unofficial. Does not mention cultural heritage. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages, so quotations and paragraph numbers must be re-checked against the original PDF before approval.
Press release No. 2021/20: Armenia institutes proceedings against Azerbaijan and requests provisional measures — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Registry press release of 16 September 2021, marked unofficial; sets out Armenia's allegations as Armenia's. Does not mention cultural heritage. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages, so quotations and paragraph numbers must be re-checked against the original PDF before approval.
Press release No. 2021/21: Azerbaijan institutes proceedings against Armenia and requests provisional measures — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Registry press release of 23 September 2021, unofficial; sets out Azerbaijan's allegations as Azerbaijan's. It refers to 'cultural erasure' but does not use the term cultural heritage. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages, so quotations and paragraph numbers must be re-checked against the original PDF before approval.
Azerbaijan v. Armenia, Judgment of 12 November 2024 (preliminary objections raised by Armenia) — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: The Court's judgment in case no. 181. Operative paragraph 101 votes (14-3; 16-1; 12-5; unanimous), paras 17-18, 55, 62-63 re-checked on 2026-10-15. The last c.5,600 characters of the page were not read. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages.
Press release No. 2021/35: Court indicates provisional measures in the case Azerbaijan v. Armenia (7 December 2021) — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Registry press release, unofficial. The fetch tool's summary wrongly said the request was made by Armenia; the case is Azerbaijan v. Armenia and only the measures and votes are used here. Read through a fetch tool that summarises pages, so quotations and paragraph numbers must be re-checked against the original PDF before approval.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (OHCHR instrument page) — Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: Official UN human rights office page with the Convention text (adopted 21 December 1965, General Assembly resolution 2106 (XX)). Articles 1(1), 2(1)(a), 5 and 22 checked only through a summarising fetch tool, so only short fragments are quoted. The treaty is also in UNTS vol. 660, 1-9464 (not opened).
Armenia v. Azerbaijan, Order of 12 October 2022 (request for the modification of the Order of 7 December 2021) — International Court of Justice · Tier 1: official or primary record
Note: The Court's order; operative paragraph 23 (13-3 not to modify; unanimous reaffirmation) as returned by a summarising fetch tool.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process Enters 2026 (Robert M. Cutler) — Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (CACI) · Tier 2: institutional or academic
Note: Analyst article. States the agreement was initialed on 8 August 2025 and not signed, and that ratification and internal procedures precede entry into force. It does not mention the ICJ cases.
From Interstate Withdrawal to Individual Justice: V.T. and Others v. Azerbaijan and the Future of Accountability before Strasbourg — Strasbourg Observers · Tier 2: institutional or academic
Note: Academic blog post about the European Court of Human Rights. Refers to the 'announced intention to withdraw interstate claims' under Article XV of the initialed agreement; per the fetch tool it names no ICJ or arbitral proceedings and reports no filed withdrawal. Used only as evidence that, on 11 August 2026, withdrawal was still described as an intention.
Armenia and Azerbaijan publish draft of peace treaty — OC Media · Tier 3: reputable journalism
Note: Dated journalism. Secondary reproduction/reporting of the initialed text: reports that Article XV requires the parties to withdraw interstate claims within one month of entry into force, and that the text was initialed, not signed, at a Washington meeting on 8 August 2025. Its wording differs from the JAMnews reproduction, so no exact quotation of Article XV is made; the official text was not opened.
Text of peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia published — JAMnews · Tier 3: reputable journalism
Note: Dated journalism reproducing the initialed text; says the text links to a PDF on the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs site (not opened). Used for the agreement's title, Article XV (interstate claims), Article XVI (entry into force) and that it had not been signed.
Armenia PM hopes for Azerbaijan peace treaty within 5 years — 24 News HD (credited to INP) · Tier 3: reputable journalism
Note: Single dated news item of 15 October 2026 (reportedly): the agreement was initialed in August 2025 and has not been signed or ratified; does not mention the ICJ. Lower-reliability outlet; the claim is reported as reportedly stated and is not otherwise corroborated by a Tier 1 or 2 source for October 2026.
Yerevan says no decision yet to withdraw lawsuits against Azerbaijan — OC Media · Tier 3: reputable journalism
Note: Dated journalism (6 Nov 2025, updated 10 Nov 2025) reporting statements of Armenia's Representative on International Legal Matters; a party official's statement, not independent confirmation of the Court's docket.

Last checked October 15, 2026 · Approved by Harry Disley on October 15, 2026