Kenya loses maritime boundary case to Somalia at ICJ
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday awarded Somalia control of most of a potentially oil- and a gas-rich chunk of the Indian Ocean after a legal battle with Kenya over their sea border.
The ICJ ruled there was “no agreed maritime boundary” and drew a new border close to the one claimed by Somalia, although Kenya kept a part of the 100,000 square-kilometre (38,000-square-mile) area, chief judge Joan Donoghue said.
The Hague-based court asked both parties to amicably solve the current dispute.
The court unanimously ruled that the starting point of the single maritime boundary delimiting the respective maritime areas between Somalia and Kenya is the intersection of the straight line extending from the final permanent boundary beacon (PB 29) at right angles to the general direction of the coast with the low-water line, at the point with coordinates 1° 39′ 44.0″ S and 41° 33′ 34.4″ E (WGS 84).
The court unanimously rejected the claim made by Somalia in its final submission concerning the allegation that Kenya, by its conduct in the disputed area, had violated its international obligations
Kenya and Somalia have both been claiming the 100,000 square-kilometre zones in the Indian Ocean thought to be rich in oil and gas.
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