The Case Concerning the Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America) (1986)[2] was a case where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that the U.S. had violated international law by supporting the Contras in their rebellion against the Sandinistas and by mining Nicaragua‘s harbors. The case was decided in favor of Nicaragua and against the United States with the awarding of reparations to Nicaragua.

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In response to the ICJ‘s decision that US aid to the contra rebels violated international law, US State Department lawyer, Abraham Sofaer, said that the US would no longer recognize the ICJ‘s ‚compulsory jurisdiction‘ authority. Sofaer said „We felt the Nicaragua case was an unfortunate signal to us that we should be concerned about our security interests and about the use of the court for political-public relations purposes. . . . The President does not want the court used for those purposes–at the same time, he and others in this Administration want to continue to use the court for its intended purposes“. Paul Reichler, one of the lawyers representing Nicaragua in the case, said: „It‘s another indication that this Administration has no regard for international law–when international law conflicts with a foreign policy objective of the Administration, they will throw international law into the waste basket“.