Ambatielos (Greece v. United Kingdom)
OVERVIEW OF THE CASE
In 1919, Nicolas Ambatielos, a Greek shipowner, entered into a contract for the purchase of ships with the Government of the United Kingdom. He claimed he had suffered damage through the failure of that Government to carry out the terms of the contract and as a result of certain judgments given against him by the English courts in circumstances said to involve the violation of international law. The Greek Government took up the case of its national and claimed that the United Kingdom was under a duty to submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with Treaties between the United Kingdom and Greece of 1886 and 1926. The United Kingdom objected to the Court’s jurisdiction. In a Judgment of 1 July 1952, the Court held that it had jurisdiction to decide whether the United Kingdom was under a duty to submit the dispute to arbitration but, on the other hand, that it had no jurisdiction to deal with the merits of the Ambatielos claim. In a further Judgment of 19 May 1953, the Court decided that the dispute was one which the United Kingdom was under a duty to submit to arbitration in accordance with the Treaties of 1886 and 1926.
This overview is provided for information only and in no way involves the responsibility of the Court.