VIII
Disputes Between Contracting States

45. Article 64 confers on the International Court of Justice jurisdiction over disputes between Contracting States regarding the interpretation or application of the Convention which are not settled by negotiation and which the parties do not agree to settle by other methods. While the provision is couched in general terms, it must be read in the context of the Convention as a whole. Specifically, the provision does not confer jurisdiction on the Court to review the decision of a Conciliation Commission or Arbitral Tribunal as to its competence with respect to any dispute before it. Nor does it empower a State to institute proceedings before the Court in respect of a dispute which one of its nationals and another Contracting State have consented to submit or have submitted to arbitration, since such proceedings would contravene the provisions of Article 27, unless the other Contracting State had failed to abide by and comply with the award rendered in that dispute.