WORLD COURT: The Talmudists

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For more than ten years Portugal and India have been squabbling over a dozen small chunks of land which are all that remain of the 450-year-old Portuguese empire in India. Last week the 15-man International Court of Justice in The Hague handed down a judgment on the dispute worthy of a conclave of Talmudists.

At issue before the court was the fate of Dadrá and Nagar Aveli, two tiny (126 sq. mi.) Portuguese enclaves tucked away in the lush forests of Bombay State. In 1954, when the primitive Warlie tribesmen of the two enclaves chased out their Portuguese overlords, the Indian government proclaimed that Dadrá and Nagar Aveli were now "independent" areas, and refused to let Portugal send troops in from the nearby Portuguese coastal possession of Damão. The Portuguese promptly went to the World Court with the claim that under treaty obligations dating from 1779, Portugal had an automatic right of passage across the Indian territory that separates Dadrá and Nagar Aveli from Damão.

After six years of reflection, the court last week conceded that "in 1954" Portugal had legal sovereignty over the enclaves and was entitled to free passage into them for civil officials, private citizens and goods. But by a close vote (8 to 7 ) the judges also decided that India was within its rights in refusing passage to Portuguese troops. In effect, they recognized the Portuguese right to the enclaves but denied them any means of enforcing it.

In Lisbon, Portuguese officialdom claimed a "moral victory.'' More important to Indians was the fact that the enclaves were clearly destined to remain Indian territory in practice, if not in law. Enthusiasts announced that their next target would be ancient Goa, biggest of Portugal's remaining Indian possessions. But Goa would be harder to "liberate." Since it is on the coast, Portugal can easily reinforce Goa's garrison without crossing Indian territory.