Maritime case to go on at ICJ despite Kenya's withdrawal

HAGUE - The hearing of the maritime border case between Kenya and Somalia will go on as planned, it has emerged, despite the last-minute withdrawal of Kenya, which is fighting to keep the oil-rich territory, which Somalia accuses her of grabbing.

In a schedule released last week, the International Court of Justice [ICJ] will start hearing the case from 3 pm Netherlands time, which is around 5 pm local time in Somalia. Both parties had been given time for presentation in court.

Nairobi withdrew from the case last minute despite an earlier confirmation that her legal team was ready to handle the case. A few weeks ago, the ICJ declined Kenya's request to have the case postponed once more.

Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, a Somali national, will be the judge in the case. Kenya had called for his recusal at the preliminary stages but he refused, but he's protected by the court given that judges can sit in every case and it's their prerogative to step aside or stay on.

Somalia's legal team will present its oral arguments first, between 3 PM and 6 PM on Monday, and will continue its presentation on Tuesday between 3 PM and 4:30 PM.

The ICJ will hold the hearings in a hybrid format - another feature Kenya objected to - in light of the COVID pandemic. The hearings will be aired on a Livestream on the court's website and UN Web TV.

Somalia launched legal proceedings against Kenya at the international court based in The Hague in August 2014 after failing to settle the issue through diplomatic channels.

The court had ruled that the MoU between Kenya and Somalia is a valid bilateral agreement. The ICJ judges had ruled that the document had been signed by authentic agents from both nations, adding that consequently, it had jurisdiction to hear and determine the case.

The court rejected that claim and ruled in June 2019 that the court was within its legal rights to adjudicate 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 believed rich in hydrocarbons and fish. Kenya claims the territory.

Despite Kenya's withdrawal, the ICJ can still proceed with the case and render a verdict since Kenya has already submitted its written arguments to the court. The ruling cannot be appealed, but its enforcement relies on the UN Security Council, of which Kenya is a non-permanent member.

GAROWE ONLINE