§ 53. Mr. Pickthornasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the present position, and what are the intentions of His Majesty's Government in the Corfu Channel case.
§ Mr. YoungerOn 15th December, the International Court of Justice awarded His Majesty's Government damages of £843,947 on account of the Corfu Channel incident. This was the full amount which they had claimed. His Majesty's Government proposes to discuss the payment of damages with the Albanian Government at an early date.
§ Mr. PickthornCan the hon. Gentleman remember the date upon which His Majesty's ships were sunk and His Majesty's sailors murdered; and does he think that this length of time can possibly permit such a jurisdiction to help at all towards the maintenance of peace and justice?
§ Mr. YoungerI have not got the original date with me now. I think it is a very common complaint that people make about legal proceedings, whether international or domestic, that they take a long time; but I do not think that any time has been wasted over what is, after all, a very complicated international problem.