Editing Foreign relations of Belgium (section)

==International disputes==
Belgium has resorted several times to international dispute settlement, notably in cases at both the [[International Court of Justice]] and the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] with the Netherlands concerning the diversion of water from the Meuse (1937) the frontier at the [[enclave]] of [[Baarle-Hertog]] (1959) and the revitalisation of the so-called [[Iron Rhine]] railroad (2005). There have been other points of contention with the Netherlands, such as the deepening of the river Scheldt or the route for the high-speed rail link between Brussels and Amsterdam. This does however not influence the overall amicable character of Belgo-Dutch relationship.

Other former cases at international courts between Belgium and other countries are&nbsp;— in chronological order&nbsp;— the [[Oscar Chinn Case]] of 1934 (with the [[United Kingdom]], the Borghgrave Case of 1937 (with Spain), the cases of the electricity company of Sofia of 1939 (with [[Bulgaria]]), the case of the "société commerciale de Belgique" of 1939 (with [[Greece]]), the case concerning the [[Barcelona Traction Company]] of 1970 (with Spain), the arrest warrant case of 2002 (with the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]) and the case concerning legality of use of force of 2004 (with [[Serbia and Montenegro]]).

The arrest warrant case of 2002 was caused by the application of Belgium's so called [[genocide under municipal laws|genocide law]], providing for [[universal jurisdiction]] over the gravest international crimes. The same law stirred relations with, amongst others, [[Israel]] and the [[United States]], since complaints were filed against high-ranking politicians and officials of both countries. The law was therefore repealed in 2003.