Somalia files maritime case against Kenya at the Hague

Somali government has officially filed 150-page court filing on Somalia’s maritime border dispute with Kenya at the International Court of Justice at The Hague on Monday, Somali government officials said.
Somali Government said it would never accept Kenya’s efforts to seize part of its boundary even if the country has been in anarchy for more than two decades.
The disputed ocean territory stretches for more than 100,000 sq km.
The dispute has been going on for the last six years, keeping investors away because of a lack of legal clarity over who owns potential off-shore oil and gas reserves.
Somalia’s Attorney General Ahmed Ali told the BBC that his government would present a 150-page document arguing its case at the ICJ, which is UN’s top judicial body, based in The Hague.

Kenya’s Attorney General Githu Muigai told the BBC that Somalia had no right to claim what is Kenya’s territorial water. He also confirmed that some concessions have been given to foreign companies to explore oil and gas.

The application comes days after the Kenyan government said it had received a pledge from Mogadishu that it wanted to solve the case out of court.

In 2014 the ICJ gave Somalia the go-ahead to file the case after efforts to settle the dispute outside the court had failed.

The ICJ has asked the Kenyan government to respond by 27 May 2016, after which hearings will begin formally.