Mr. Rajeev Ranade, Chair
r-ranade@northwestern.edu


Ahmadou Sadio Diallo
(Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic of Congo)



Mr. Diallo was a prolific businessman of Guinean citizenship, but residing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr. Diallo was imprisoned and expelled from the nation. The expulsion occurred at a time when Mr. Diallo was looking to recover debts that were owed to him by the state and a variety of oil companies within the state. Guinea has summoned the DRC to the International Court of Justice for violating the rights of one of its citizens and is requesting reparations and an apology.



On February 2, 1996, Ahmadou Sadio Diallo was expelled from Zaire (currently the Democratic Republic of Congo) after being imprisoned for two months for pursuing debts owed to him by the government. A variety of companies with state connections, including Zaire Shell, Zaire Mobil, Zaire Fina and Gecamines all owed Mr. Diallo money.

However, in 1997 the name of the country and government changed in a transitional period from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC is claming that it can’t owe anything to Mr. Diallo because the government has changed and the government which can be held accountable is no longer in existence. Therefore, they are not responsible for past incursions on his rights. Guinea however is claiming that Diallo’s rights were infringed upon by being detained and refused his investments as a citizen of Guinea.



The International Court of Justice must decide whether or not Mr. Diallo’s rights have been infringed upon by the Democratic Republic of Congo. The judgment passed will have to deal with standards of diplomatic protection and the status of foreign nationals.



ICJ - Latest Developments
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http://odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html