Preliminary observations

A judicial remedy closely related to, but different from, the interpretation of judgments and awards is that of the revision of decisions, that is to say, the power of a tribunal to revise its judgment or award. In view of the pre-eminent status of the International Court of Justice, perhaps the most authoritative provision on the matter is Article 61 of its Statute, paragraph 1 of which provides the basic rule. It stipulates:

Paragraph 2 provides that the proceedings shall be opened by a judgment in which the Court expressly records the existence of the new fact, recognises that it has such a character as to lay the case open for revision and (accordingly) declares the application admissible on that ground. Paragraph 3 states that the Court may require compliance with the terms of the judgment before it admits proceedings in revision. Paragraphs 4 and 5 provide temporal limits. All applications are to be made within six months of the discovery of the new fact, and a final overall time limit is placed for applications for revision at ten years from the date of the judgment.