Maritime case continues at ICJ despite Kenya’s withdrawal
HAGUE – The hearing of the maritime border case between Kenya and Somalia will continue as planned, it has emerged despite last-minute withdrawal of Kenya, which is struggling to retain the oil-rich territory that Somalia accuses her of having seized.
In a timetable published last week, the International Court of Justice [ICJ] will begin hearing the case from 6 p.m. 15 Dutch time, which is around kl. 17 local time in Somalia. Both parties had been given time for presentation in court.
Nairobi withdrew from the case at the last minute despite an earlier confirmation that her legal team was ready to handle the case. A few weeks ago, the ICJ rejected Kenya’s request to postpone the case again.
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, a Somali national, will be the judge in the case, further making Kenya uncomfortable. Kenya, however, has never pushed for its recall from the bench.
Somalia’s legal team presents its oral arguments only between 15.00 and kl. 18 Monday and will continue its presentation on Tuesday between kl. 15 and 16.30.
The ICJ is holding the hearings in a hybrid format – another feature Kenya protested against – in the light of the COVID pandemic. The hearings are broadcast in Livestream on the court’s website and the UN’s web TV.
Somalia began litigation against Kenya at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in August 2014 after failing to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels.
Recently, Kenya questioned whether the court had jurisdiction to deal with the case, pointing to the 2009 MOU signed with Somalia’s then Minister of National Planning and International Cooperation, Abdirahman Abdishakur.
The court rejected this claim and ruled in June 2019 that the court was within its legal right to rule on the case. Since then, the issue has been delayed and postponed several times at Kenya’s request.
At stake is a potentially lucrative, triangular stretch of 100,000 square kilometers of offshore territory assumed to be rich in hydrocarbons and fish. Kenya claims the territory.
Despite Kenya’s withdrawal, the ICJ can still proceed with the case and pass judgment as Kenya has already submitted its written arguments to the court. The ruling cannot be appealed, but its enforcement is dependent on the UN Security Council, of which Kenya is a non-permanent member.
AXADLETM
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