The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will commence hearing of the Kenya-Somalia maritime border case on Monday, March 15.
In a statement on Tuesday, ICJ said that public hearings will be conducted between Monday March 15 to Wednesday, March 24.
“The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings in the case concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) from Monday 15 to Wednesday 24 March 2021, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court,” the statement read in part.
The hearing will be conducted between 3pm and 6pm East African time, and broadcast on the ICJ website.
“In view of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the hearings will be held in hybrid format. Some
Members of the Court will attend the oral proceedings in person in the Great Hall of Justice while
others will participate remotely by video link. Representatives of the Parties to the case will
participate either in person or by video link,” added the statement.
Read: Somalia Rejects IGAD Report On Kenya’s Interference Allegations
Already, Somalia’s envoy led by Federal Government of Somalia Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid has proceeded to The Hague for the hearing.
Kenya and Somalia have been in a dispute over which direction the two countries’ border extends into the Indian Ocean.
According to Somalia, the maritime boundary should continue on in the same direction as the land border’s southeasterly path.
On the other hand, Kenya believes that the border should take a roughly 45-degree turn at the shoreline and run in a latitudinal line.
Read: Kenya-Somalia Maritime Border Wars Escalate As Arab Parliament Issues Warning To Kenya
The case was filed at ICJ on August 28, 2014 by Somalia, arguing that diplomatic negotiations have failed to resolve this disagreement.
Somalia requested the Court “to determine, on the basis of international law, the complete course of the single maritime boundary dividing all the maritime areas appertaining to Somalia and to Kenya in the Indian Ocean, including the continental shelf beyond 200 [nautical miles]”.
Somalia further asked the Court “to determine the precise geographical co-ordinates of the single maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean”.
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