Kenya’s government stated it would not accept. the International Court of Justice’s decision in the maritime border dispute with Somalia. Kenya is adamant that the issue should only be resolved through peaceful negotiations.
The ruling, scheduled for Tuesday next week, will be “the culmination of a flawed judicial process that Kenya has reservations about,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kenya has long served as a beacon of peace and stability in the region and beyond. In this context, Kenya had maintained even before Somalia filed the current case that any dispute between the two countries over their maritime boundary should be resolved amicably. The two countries reached an agreement in 2009 on how and when to address maritime boundary issues amicably,” the Ministry added
Kenya claims that the International Court of Justice took jurisdiction over the case by ignoring Kenya’s 1965 reservation that excluded disputes like the one at hand from the Court’s jurisdiction. On September 24 this year, Kenya joined other United Nations member countries in withdrawing its recognition of the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction stating as a sovereign nation; it shall no longer be subjected to an international court or tribunal without its consent.
Kenya and Somalia’s maritime border dispute centres on a 160,000-square kilometres triangle in the Indian Ocean.
