Kenya’s plea to address council before start of hearings denied by ICJ

THE HAGUE (Halbeeg News) – International of Court Justice has rejected Kenya’s request to address the Court to explain Kenya’s reason for withdrawing from the case days after the East Africa nation turned down offer to participate in the oral proceedings of its maritime dispute case with Somalia.

Kenya’s Attorney General Kihara Kariuki in his two-paged letter addressed to ICJ’s registrar Phillippe Gautier wanted 30 minutes to declare its protest.

The court’s president, Judge Joan Donoghue, rejected Kenya’s request to brief it before the start of Monday’s opening.

“The court regrets the decision of Kenya not to participate in the oral proceedings,” she said.

But she said the court had a raft of material previously filed by the country in arguing its side of the case.

Therefore, the ICJ set five minutes for Somalia to open its case.

In his opening remarks at the Hague Monday, Somalia’s principal agent Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled said the Court had been fair to Kenya and should not have pulled out.

“We are deeply concerned that Kenya decided not to take part in this proceeding. Kenya has no ground to complain about its treatment by this court,” Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Khadar Guiled, who is the Somali delegation leader, said at the start of the online hearing.

Kenya had been trying drag its feet in order to convince Somalia to resolve the case out of court.

Last month, court rejected Kenya’s request to have the maritime delimitation case with Somalia postponed for a 4th time.

Last Sunday, Kenya announced that it had pulled out of the public hearing, due to “bias and unwillingness of the court” to accept Kenya’s request to delay the hearings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Kenya wishes to inform the court, through the registrar, that it shall not be participating in the hearings in the case herein, should the same proceed from March 15, 2021, as presently scheduled,” Kenya’s Attorney General Kihara Kariuki said in a letter to the ICJ.

Both Somalia and Kenya are contesting ownership of a triangular territory measuring 100,000km2 in the Indian Ocean boundary.

Somalia went to court in 2014 following what it termed as failure to settle the matter with her neighbour, Kenya bilaterally. The court verdict is final and not subject to appeal.