The International Court of Justice has rejected Kenya’s request to have its maritime dispute with Somalia postponed for a 4th time. Somalia’s Information Minister Osman Dubbe said this week Somalia had written to the UN court objecting a further delay of the case.
The International Court of Justice has rejected Kenya’s request to have its maritime dispute with Somalia postponed for a 4th time. The Court on Saturday informed the two parties that the hearings of the case would proceed as scheduled starting March 15 in a hybrid format.
The court said as already explained to the two parties during a technical meeting on Jan 26, there is a possibility for a limited number of representatives of the parties to appear in person in the Great Hall of Justice.
Kenya had on January 28 applied for a third delay of the case citing the COVID 19 pandemic, absence of a ‘substantive government’ in Somalia and ‘mysterious disappearance’ of a map it intended to use in its defense.
Somalia’s Information Minister Osman Dubbe said Mogadishu had petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to reject Kenya’s request for further postponement. For the past years, there has been a maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya, though Somalia claims the Maritime and says Kenya is violating international law.
By Hussein Jama
February 14, 2021
