Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan (Indonesia/Malaysia) - Schedule of public hearings to be held from 3 to 12 June 2002

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF ruSTICE

Peace Palace, 2517 KJ The Hague. Tel: +31 (0)70 302 23 23. Cables: Intercourt,
The Hague. Fax: +31 (0)70 364 99 28. Telex: 32323. E-mail address:
mail@icj-cij .org. Internet address: http://wvvw.iej-cij.org.

Press Release

Unofficial

No. 2002/14
23 May2002

Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan

andonesia/Malaysia)

Schedule of public hearings to be held from 3 to 12 June 2002

TIIE HAGUE, 23 May 2002. The schedule of the public hearings to be held by the
International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial organ of the United Nations, in the case
conceming Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan (lndonesia!Malaysia) from
Monday 3 to Wednesday 12June 2002, is as follows:

Firstround ofpleadings

Monday 3 June: Indonesia (from 10 a.m. to 1p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.)
Tuesday 4 June: Indonesia (from 10 a.m. to 1p.m.)
Wednesday 5 June: no hearings scheduled
Thursday 6 June: Malaysia (from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.)
Friday 7 June: Malaysia (from 10a.m. to 1p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6p.m.)

Secondround of pleadings

Monday 10 June: Indonesia (from 10 a.m. to 1p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 4:30p.m.)
Tuesday 11June: no hearings scheduled
Wednesday 12 June: Malaysia (from 10 a.m.to 1p.m. and from 3 p.m.to 4:30p.m.)

History of the proceedings

Indonesia and Malaysia jointly seised the Court on 2November 1998 of their dispute

conceming sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan, two islands in the Celebes Sea.
They did so by notifying the Court of a Special Agreement, which was signed between them on
31May 1997at Kuala Lumpur and entered into force on 14May 1998. In the Special Agreement,
the Parties request the Court "to determine on the basis of the treaties, agreements and any other
evidence fumished by [them], whether sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan andPulau Sipadan belong[s]
to the Republic of Indonesia or to Malaysia". In the Agreement, they express the wish to settle
their dispute "in the spirit of friendly relations existing between [them] as enunciated in the 1976
Treaty of Arnityand Co-operation in Southeast Asia" and declarin advance that they will "accept
the Judgment of the Court . . . as final and binding upon them". Each of the Parties filed a

Memorial, a Counter-Memorial and a Reply within the time-limits fixed by the Court or its
President. The Court rejected an applicationfor permission to intervene filed by the Philippines
(seethe Judgment of23 October 2001, Press ReleaseNo. 2001128). -2-

NOTE TO THE PRESS

1. The public hearings will be held in the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace in
The Hague, Netherlands. Mobile telephones and beepers are allowed in the courtroom provided
they are turned off or set on silent mode. Any offendingdeviee will be temporarilyretained.

2. Members of the Press may attend on presentation of a press card. The tables reserved for ·
themare situated to the far left of the public entrance to the courtroom.

3. Photographs and TV shots may be taken for a few minutes at the opening and close of each
sitting. The Court's proceedings will be displayed live on a large TV screen in the Press Room,
located on the ground floor of the Peace Palace (Room 5). In the Press Room, it will be possible

for TV crews to connect recording equipment directly to the Court's new video system, but
advance notice of this should be given to the Information Department. There is also a facility for the
connection of sound-only equipment to the Court's audiosystem during the proceedings.

4. Telephone calls may be made from the phone located in the Press Room (collect calls only)
or fromthe public payphones in the Post Office in thebasement of the Peace Palace.

5. Verbatim records of the hearings will be published daily on the Court's website

(www.icj-cij.org), with translations to follow as soonspracticable thereafter.

6. Mr. Arthur Witteveen, First Secretary of the Court (tel: +31-70-302 2336), as well as
Mrs. Laurence Blairon and Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officers, are available to deal with any

requests from the Press (tel:+31-70-302 2337; e-mail address: [email protected]).