The Straits of Corfu or Corfu Channel is the narrow body of water along the coasts of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

to the east, separating these two countries from the Greek island of Corfu on the west. The channel is a passage from the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

on the north to the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

that is used by

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ex ...

local to Albania and Greece to the ports of Saranda, Albania, and

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa ( el, Ηγουμενίτσα, ) is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece ...

, Greece, and by local and tourist traffic in Albania and from the Greek mainland to Corfu, in addition to some international traffic from the Adriatic.

Corfu Channel Incident

The

Corfu Channel Incident The Corfu Channel Incident consists of three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War.

refers to three separate incidents involving

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

ships in the Straits of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War.Australian Journal of Legal History
Half Light Between War and Peace: Herbert Vere Evatt, The Rule of International Law, and The Corfu Channel CaseTimes Online
Obituary: Lieutenant-Commander Hugh Knollys Navigator who won a DSC on D-Day and survived when his destroyer hit a mine in the postwar Corfu Channel incident. During the first incident, Royal Navy ships came under fire from Albanian fortifications. The second incident involved Royal Navy ships striking mines and the third incident occurred when the Royal Navy conducted

mine-clearing Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contra ...

operations in the Corfu Channel, but in Albanian

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

, and

complained about them to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

. This series of incidents led to the

Corfu Channel Case The ''Corfu Channel'' case (french: Affaire du Détroit de Corfou, links=no) was the first public international law case heard before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between 1947 and 1949, concerning state responsibility for damages a ...

, where the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

brought a case against the

People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

.JSTOR
The Corfu Channel Case Quincy Wright The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Jul., 1949), pp. 491-494 (article consists of 4 pages) Published by: American Society of International Law Retrieved 31-07-08 Because of the incidents, Britain, in 1946, broke off talks with Albania aimed at establishing

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

between the two countries. Diplomatic relations were only restored in 1991.UK in Albania (British Embassy in Albania)
Quote: "Discussions on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations were finally broken off as a result of the Corfu Channel incidents. In May 1946 the Albanians fired on two Royal Navy Cruisers and in October 1946 two Royal Navy destroyers were damaged by mines with the loss of 44 men. Britain was awarded damages at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Albania refused to recognise the judgement. In retaliation, Britain refused to permit the release of Albanian gold held since the War by the Tripartite Gold Commission." and "Post-War diplomatic relations were finally established on 29 May 1991"

References

{{Authority control Corfu Corfu Corfu Corfu Albania–Greece border International straits Landforms of Corfu (regional unit) Landforms of the Ionian Islands (region) Albanian Ionian Sea Coast