Somalia to submit maritime case against Kenya at the Hague today
Somalia’s Attorney General Ahmed Dahir is expected to submit a 150-page court filing on Somalia’s maritime border dispute with Kenya at the International Court of Justice at The Hague today.
Somalia has indicated it had decided to refer the matter to ICJ after failure by Kenya to reach an amicable agreement with Somalia following many months of negotiations. In its 2014 application to institute proceedings, Somalia had observed thus:
‘The inability of the parties to narrow the difference between them , and the failure of the Kenyan delegation to attend the final meeting, have made manifest the need for judicial resolution of this dispute.’
Out of court settlement
Kenya on its part has always talked of out of court settlement with the latest brief to the Kenyan parliament by the Foreign Affairs minister Amina Mohamed that Somalia had agreed to withdraw its case and opted for out of court settlement, an assertion vehemently refuted by Somalia.
Somalia in its application is requesting the ICJ 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].” It also asks the ICJ “to determine the precise geographical coordinates of the single maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean.”
Oil companies
This portion of the sea is reportedly rich in gas and petroleum deposits and Kenya has already contracted foreign companies to explore the resource. However all but one company have pulled out of the contracts for fear of the judicial ramifications. Attorney General Ahmed Dahir says his office had warned oil companies in question to withdraw from the contracts as they were not legitimate but the Italian oil explorer ENI is still conducting exploration in the contested areas.
According to the ICJ rules, Kenya has up to eight months to file its response meaning that the case may start as from March 2016.
ICJ is a United Nations court tasked with arbitrating disputes between states and has on a number of occasions ruled on boundary issues between many countries including the long time contested Bakassi Peninsula between Nigeria and Cameroon in 1999. The court ruled in favour of Cameroon and the territory was transferred to Cameroon in August 14, 2008.