A map illustrating the Somalia-Kenya maritime border dispute. (Courthouse News image/Molly Quell)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) Despite Kenya’s last-minute withdrawal, Somalia gave opening statements in a long-standing dispute over its maritime boundary before the United Nations’ highest court Monday.
Last week, Kenya accused the International Court of Justice of bias for refusing to reschedule hearings for a fourth time in a case over the Indian Ocean maritime border between the two East African countries.
Boundary disputes are not “a twist or a hip hop which one can dance solo, but a tango dominated by a pas de deux,” Alain Pellet told The Hague-based court on behalf of Somalia, referring to the ballet movement where dancers dance in sync.
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National
The Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice, is seen in The Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) The United Nations’ high court held Friday it has jurisdiction to hear a South American border dispute dating back to the 1800s.
The International Court of Justice found it has the authority to rule in the matter between Venezuela and Guyana. The two have been fighting over the disputed Guayana Esequiba territory since 1814. The case at hand involves an 1899 tribunal decision awarding the land to what was then known as British Guiana.
The ruling is a win for Guyana, which argued this past summer in The Hague-based court’s first virtual hearing that the ICJ judges should decide the case.