By Hafsa Mursal
The International Court of Justice has ruled in Somalia’s favor in the seven-year-long maritime case rejecting Kenya’s boundary delimitation method and virtually all claims it presented at the UN court.
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).
Kenya and Somalia have both been claiming parts in the Indian Ocean thought to be rich in oil and gas.
Somalia sued Kenya at The Hague-based court claiming that Nairobi was conducting unauthorized operations in its maritime territory along the Indian Ocean in 2014.
In its application, Somalia said diplomatic negotiation had failed and it was now asking the court to determine the precise coordinates of the single maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean.
On Friday last week Kenya government insinuated that they will not recognize and accept any verdict from the World court.
However, it remains to be seen on how the decision of the ICJ court will be implemented and effected as Kenya , a signatory member of the court still maintains its stand to disregarding the decision of the court.
