particularly to describe whether the parties have made out their claim or defense as
the case maybe.
As a general rule, the burden of proof lies on the Plaintiff. If that burden is met, the
burden then shifts to the Defendant, who now has to plead and prove any defense,
by a preponderance of evidence.
In SIKIRU ALADE V. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, (2012), CCJELR
unreported @ para 50, the court held fast to the notion that every material allegation
of the claim must be justified by credible evidence and the defense should also
sufficiently satisfy every defense and put forward what will rebut the claim or take
the risk of not putting anything at all if the claim by their estimation is weak and
unproven. See also JOSEPH CONSTANTINE STEAMSHIP LINE LIMITED
V IMPERIAL SMELTING CORPORATION (1942).
It is however important to bear in mind that this Court as an international court does
not operate on the basis of a developed theory or detailed stipulations of procedural
law. Its approach to fact finding is also governed to a great extent by each specific
situation.
In NACHOVA AND OTHERS V. BULGARIA, [GC], 06.07.2005, unpublished,
para. 147, the Court spelt out the current state of the law on proof under the
Convention in a rather flexible and contextual approach:
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