The Republic of Nicaragua v. The United States of America[1] was a 1986 case of the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in which the ICJ ruled in favor of
Nicaragua and against the United States and awarded reparations to Nicaragua. The ICJ held that the U.S. had violated
international law by supporting
Contra guerrillas in their rebellion against the Nicaraguan government and by
mining Nicaragua's harbors. The United States refused to participate in the proceedings after the Court rejected its argument that the ICJ lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. The U.S. later blocked enforcement of the judgment by the
United Nations Security Council and thereby prevented Nicaragua from obtaining any actual compensation.
[2]