Overview

• Equatorial Guinea filed a request for provisional measures at the International Court of Justice to prevent France from selling the Avenue Foch residence and to restore its access
• French authorities seized the mansion after the Paris appeals court in 2021 convicted Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue of corruption, imposing a suspended sentence and hefty fines
• Equatorial Guinea contends the building served as its diplomatic premises and that France breached the Vienna Convention by changing the locks last month
• France’s legal team told the ICJ the emergency request is without merit, that any sale is not imminent and that recent inspections were purely fact-finding
• The court’s decision on the provisional measures is pending, but ICJ rulings depend on states’ willingness to comply since it has no enforcement mechanism