The International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on Wednesday ordered [decision, PDF] France, which is investigating Equatorial Guinea’s Second Vice President Teodoro Obiang, to respect the rights of a building deemed to be part of the Equatorial Guinea’s diplomatic mission in Paris. The ICJ further ruled [press release, PDF] that it does not have jurisdiction to rule on Equatorial Guinea’s claim that Obiang enjoys immunity from these criminal investigations under Article 4 of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Equatorial Guinea requested that the ICJ order France to recognize a building located at 42 avenue Foch in Paris as property of Equatorial Guinea and that it is the premise of its diplomatic mission in France. According to Equatorial Guinea, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the building is afforded certain protections that France’s investigation violates. In particular, they asked the court to ensure “that those premises, together with their furnishings and other property thereon, or previously thereon, are protected from any intrusion or damage, any search, requisition, attachment, confiscation or any other measure of constraint.” The ICJ found that the premises face an imminent “real risk of irreparable prejudice to the right to inviolability” because French officials may decide to search the premises again at any time. France was ordered to treat these premises in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. As for Obiang’s immunity claim, the ICJ found that the convention does not create provisions concerning immunities for high-ranking officials. Because it is not part of the convention, the ICJ does not have jurisdiction to make a determination on whether the Obiang enjoys immunity from international law and whether France violated any such immunity.

France’s criminal investigation into Teodoro Obiang is part of a larger investigation [JURIST report] into several African leaders, beginning in 2007, for the misappropriation of public funds from their respective countries. The money was allegedly invested in France. The investigation primarily focused on Obiang’s ownership of expensive assets [Reuters report], including sports cars and a private jet. In 2011, French officials confiscated several cars belonging to him, parked at the property at 42 avenue Foch. The following year the premises were also searched and items from the building were seized. Authorities in Switzerland also confiscated 11 luxury cars belonging to Obiang at the request of the French government. In March 2014, a court in France indicted Obiang for “assist[ing] in making hidden investments or in converting the direct or indirect proceeds of a felony or misdemeanour…by acquiring a number of movable and immovable assets and paying for a number of services.” Obiang’s claims of immunity were twice rejected in French courts in 2015. The trial hearings are scheduled to take place in January 2017.