A provisional measure of protection is the term that the International Court of Justice (ICJ, World Court) uses to describe a procedure "roughly equivalent" to an interim order (which can be either a temporary restraining order or a temporary directive order) in national legal systems. The carrying out of the procedure is termed indicating the provisional measure of protection. Requests for the indication of provisional measures of protection take priority over all other cases before the ICJ due to their urgency.
History
As of 1989, the ICJ had dealt with twelve "requests for the indication of provisional measures of protection". Some of the parties involved include Iran, Pakistan, the United States, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso and Mali. On August 13, 2008, during the 2008 South Ossetia War, Georgia submitted a request for the indication of provisional measures of protection. This request was approved with a vote of 8 to 7.