Resources
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Journalists for Justice
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Confronting Impunity
  • Communities of Justice
  • Opinion
  • About US
  • Our Work
No Result
View All Result
Journalists for Justice
  • Home
  • Confronting Impunity
  • Communities of Justice
  • Opinion
  • About US
  • Our Work
No Result
View All Result
Journalists for Justice
No Result
View All Result
Home ICJ

Kenya’s oil dispute with Somalia pending before Hague court

Journalists For Justice by Journalists For Justice
February 17, 2019
in ICJ
3 min read
2
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By Thomas Verfuss

A boarder oil and gas dispute between Kenya and Somalia, which led to the ‘ambassadors crisis’ on Saturday, has been pending before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague since 2014.

RelatedPosts

Search for the next ICC Prosecutor makes little progress

ICC Appeals Chamber adjourns to consider submissions on the acquittal of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé

ICC authorises Afghanistan investigation

The ICJ — unlike the ICC, which may be more familiar to many Kenyans — does not deal with criminal cases against individuals, but with civil disputes between states, very much the same way neighbours can bring a dispute before a national judge in a civil case. By putting a legal dispute before the ICJ judges in the Peace Palace, states can get their disputes resolved peacefully by an independent third party, according to international law, instead of engaging in a diplomatic crisis or even going to war.

The ICJ is the “principal judicial organ of the United Nations” – consisting of the highest ranking judges in the world.

In August 2014, Somalia brought a case against Kenya before the ICJ about their “maritime boundaries”. The case is not so much about some water in the Indian Ocean, but about the oil and gas reserves presumably under it.

Somalia submitted that the borderline should be a “median line” (which is formed of points at the same distance from both coasts) as specified in Article 15 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Somalia stated that Kenya’s position that the maritime border should be points of the same latitude as where the land border meets the sea has no basis in international law and ICJ jurisprudence.

In 2015, Kenya submitted preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the court and the admissibility of the case brought by Somalia. This kind of step is very frequently taken by countries that are afraid to lose the case on the merits – simply: the government in Nairobi is afraid that the ICJ judges will say that Somalia is right. Judgments by the highest judges in the world are legally binding and without appeal (as there is no higher judge): states parties to the conflict are obliged to implement what the ICJ has decided.

In February 2017, when almost three years had been lost with litigation about preliminary matters, the court found that it has jurisdiction to entertain Somalia’s claim. The case thus entered the phase on the merits. The first phase of such a case before the ICJ is always the exchange of written memorials, followed by oral pleadings in the Peace Palace.

Somalia and Kenya had until December 2018 to file their written pleadings. “The subsequent procedure has been reserved for further decision,” the court stated last year, but no date for oral pleadings on the merits has been announced yet.

For a map see:

www.dw.com/en/kenya-or-somalia-who-owns-the-sea-and-what-lies-beneath/a-19557277

Previous Post

The European Union needs to withdraw from the upcoming joint summit

Next Post

A son of LRA leader Joseph Kony describes life in an IDP camp

Related Posts

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (right) speaks with another prosecutor on 28 August 2018 during the closing statements in the case against former Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Bensouda's term ends in June 2021 and the process to elect her successor is ongoing.

Search for the next ICC Prosecutor makes little progress

by Thomas Verfuss
December 10, 2020

...

Geert-Jan Knoops and his client, former Ivory Coast Cabinet Minister Charles Blé Goudé, before the start of an appeals hearing at the ICC on Monday, June 22, 2020.

ICC Appeals Chamber adjourns to consider submissions on the acquittal of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé

by Millicent Zighe
June 26, 2020

...

American Marine in Afghanistan 2007

ICC authorises Afghanistan investigation

by Journalists For Justice
March 5, 2020

...

Gambia moves to ICJ to stop Rohingya genocide

Gambia moves to ICJ to stop Rohingya genocide

by Journalists For Justice
November 18, 2019

...

End British colonialism in Africa, Mauritius urges world court

by Journalists For Justice
September 4, 2018

...

Next Post

A son of LRA leader Joseph Kony describes life in an IDP camp

2
Leave a Reply

Please Login to comment
Connect with
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
2 Comment threads
0 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
0 Comment authors
Recent comment authors
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
trackback
Is Paris Pushing Kenya to Claim and Conquer Somalia’s Territorial Waters? – Moment Messenger

[…] [5] Journalists For Justice. (2019). Kenya’s Oil Dispute with Somalia Pending Before Hague Court. Available at: https://jfjustice.net/kenyaaes-oil-dispute-with-somalia-pending-before-hague-court/ […]

Vote Up0Vote Down 
1 year ago
trackback
Hadalsame Media

[…] [5] Journalists For Justice. (2019). Kenya’s Oil Dispute with Somalia Pending Before Hague Court. Available at: https://jfjustice.net/kenyaaes-oil-dispute-with-somalia-pending-before-hague-court/ […]

Vote Up0Vote Down 
1 year ago

FollowJFJustice

JFJ – Journalists for Justice

We call out impunity and raise victim voices to demand accountability for atrocity crimes wherever they occur.

Follow Us

Archives

Our Microsites

Never Again
INTAHE
BarometreVerite
The Point
No Result
View All Result
  • Confronting Impunity
  • Communities of Justice
  • Opinion
  • About US
  • Our Work

Copyright © 2019. Journalists for Justice has asserted its right to be recognized as creators and owners of the content here. Reproduction in part or in whole is permitted on condition that JFJ is acknowledged and notified.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
wpDiscuz