June 28, 1986

A Federal district judge here has refused to participate in a nationwide naturalization ceremony on July 3 because he says the dignity of the proceeding would be diminished by the introduction of television advertising. The judge, Gerhard A. Gesell, today canceled naturalization proceedings for 106 prospective citizens that were to have been held at the Jefferson Memorial as part of the nationwide ceremony on the evening of July 3. The ceremony is part of a four-day celebration of Independence Day and the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. Capital Ceremony Rescheduled Judge Gesell said that instead of the ceremony at the Jefferson Memorial he would hold a naturalization proceeding for the same people on the afternoon of July 3 in the ceremonial courtroom of the United States Courthouse here.

The Irish have voted overwhelmingly to keep the nation's ban on divorce, delivering a severe setback to the Government of Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald, according to returns announced today. Mr. FitzGerald personally led the fight to end the Irish Republic's standing as the only Western European nation without legal divorce. But the returns from the balloting Thursday showed that the voters rebuffed the proposal by a margin wider than 3 to 2. The result could prove threatening to both the four-year-old minority coalition Government and the progress of the delicate, seven-month-old British-Irish agreement allowing Dublin a consultative role in the affairs of Northern Ireland. #70,000 in Legal Limbo Mr. FitzGerald presented the proposed constitutional amendment as an act of compassion toward the 70,000 cases of marital breakdown that critics of the divorce ban say are caught in a legal limbo in the republic.

Khounphom Sone expects to be living in Brooklyn by the Fourth of July. ''I can't know in my mind what Brooklyn will be like, but I have been told it is a very big city, with houses 50 or 60 levels high,'' said Mr. Khounphom Sone, a 36-year-old refugee from Laos. ''But I want to go to Brooklyn very much,'' he said. ''Because there is my brother.'' Mr. Khounphom Sone, his 33-year-old wife, Pratsany, and their five children - waiting here in a crowded processing center with papers that say, ''Destination: La Guardia'' - symbolize in a number of ways the Asian newcomer to America in 1986, a year of special significance as America celebrates its immigrant heritage with the centennial of the Statue of Liberty.

The Army has decided to destroy its stockpiles of outmoded chemical weapons at eight sites around the country where they are stored, avoiding the risks of moving the weapons to central locations for destruction, Government officials said this week. The preliminary decision, which is expected to meet stiff opposition in communities near at least one Army depot, is to be announced on July 1 when the Pentagon releases its draft statement on the impact the plan would have on the environment. The plan, which is to be subject to three months of public comment and further analysis before it is made final in December, follows months of discussions between the Army and residents who live near the chemical stockpiles. #1994 Deadline Set by Law Representative Larry J. Hopkins, a Kentucky Republican, said the Army told him of the decision last week. His district includes a site where the weapons would be burned.

The International Court of Justice ruled today that the Reagan Administration had broken international law and violated Nicaraguan sovereignty by aiding the anti-Government rebels. The Court, the judicial arm of the United Nations, ordered Washington to halt the ''arming and training'' of the insurgents and to pay Nicaragua for damages caused by military attacks, some of which it said had been carried out by the United States itself. The judgment, which was widely expected, came after 26 months of litigation on Nicaragua's complaint. U.S. Rejects the Verdict In Washington, a State Department spokesman said the United States rejected the Court's verdict, and said the body was ''not equipped'' to judge complex international military issues. The American spokesman added that ''we consider our policy in Central America to be entirely consistent with international law.'' [ Page 4. ] In January 1985 the Administration said it would defy the Court and ignore further proceedings in the case because of its view that the World Court, as it is commonly called, has no jurisdiction to decide cases involving ongoing armed conflicts. The Court rejected this position last November.