The Corfu Channel Case Bujar AHMEDI Shefik SHEHU

The English note was examined very carefully by the Albanian authorities and on
December 23 it will respond to the English government through a different note, but this time
longer than the previous one. In the note they stated that Albania at that time did not have
tools for placing and removing mines. Given this fact, while Albania had no tools, cannot be
accused of placing mines in the Corfu Channel. To avoid accusations of knowing about the
mine placement, the Albanian government suggested that the mines in the Corfu Channel
could have been set by the Greek state.
After the response given by the Albanian government in which the participation of
Albania in the mine deployment was rejected and its knowledge of who might have placed
the mines, the British state was enforced to deliver the case to the UN Security Council.
In January 1947, England will submit the matter to the UN Security Council. In
accordance with Article 35 of the UN Charter 21 , England required the Security Council to
discuss Albania's responsibility for the Corfu Channel incident. 22
SC began the review of the English request on February 18, 1947. The Albanian Party
in the SC was represented by Hysni Kapo and Kahriman Ylli, while the British side by
Alexander Kadogan.
In the UN Security Council, the first party that featured positions regarding the
incident in the Corfu Channel was the English one. The English side once again reaffirmed its
position known earlier that the responsibility for the incident belongs to the Albanian party.
They also confirmed that the mines were placed six months or less in secret and that the
incident was a serious international crime and that their placement without notice constituted
a crime against humanity.
The Albanian party rejected the English accusations. According to the Albanian
representative Hysni Kapo, the British had no evidence in the charge raised against Albania
and that his country would never commit such act against a country with which it was an ally
21 Article 35 of UN Charter, paragraph 1, states that: Any Member of the United Nations may bring any dispute,
or any situation of the nature referred to in Article 34, to the attention of the Security Council or of the General
Assembly. All Members of the United Nations, in order to contribute to the maintenance of international peace
and security, undertake to make available to the Security Council, on its call and in accordance with a special
agreement or agreements, armed forces, assistance, and facilities, including rights of passage, necessary for the
purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
22 PRO. 1947. FO. 371/66884.