Frontier Dispute (Benin/Niger) - Special Chamber to hold its first public sitting on Thursday 20 November 2003

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF WSTICE

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:
[email protected]. Internet address: http://www.icj-cij.org.

Press Release
Unofficial

No. 2003/35
27 October 2003

Frontier Dispute (Benin/Niger)

SpecialChamber to hold its first public sitting
on Thursday 20 November 2003

THE HAGUE, 27 October 2003. The five-Member Chamber formed by the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) to deal with the case concerning the Frontier Dispute (Benin/Niger) will hold
its first public sitting on Thursdayovember 2003 at 10 a.m. in the Great Hall of Justicè of the

Peace Palace in The Hague, seatf the Court.

The aim of this public sitting is to enable the two judges ad hoc to make the solemn
declaration required by the Statute and the Rulesourt.

As announced in Press Release No. 2002/41 of 20 December 2002, the Chamber 1s

composed ofthree Members of the Court and two judges ad hoc chosen by the Parties:

President G. Guillaume;
Judges R. Ranjeva,
P. H. Kooijmans;

Judges ad hoc Mohammed Bedjaoui (chosen by Niger),
Mohamed Bennouna (chosen by Benin).

History of the proceedings

By joint letter of 11 April 2002, filed in the Registry on 3 May 2002, Benin and Niger

notified to the Court a Special Agreement, which was signed on 15 June 2001 in Cotonou and
entered into force on1 April 2002.

In the Special Agreement, the Parties requested the Court to:

"W determine the course of the boundary between the Republic of Benin and the
Republic of Niger in the River Niger sector;

(hl specify which State owns each of the islands in the said river, and in particular
LétéIsland;

(.0 determine the course of the boundary between the two States in the sector of the
RiverMekrou." -2-

By an Order of 27 November 2002, the Court acceded to the request of Benin and Niger

expressed in Article 1 of the Special Agreement that it should form a Special Chamber of five
judges to deal with the case. By the same Order, it fixed 27 August 2003 as the time-limit for the
filingof a Memorial by each of the Parties, taking into account the provisions of Article 3 of the
Special Agreement. The Memorials were filed within the prescribed time-limit. By an Order of

11September 2003, the President of the Chamber fixed 28 May 2004 as the time-limit for the filing
of a Counter-Memorial by each Party.

In the Special Agreement the Parties agreed in advance to acceptas final and binding upon

them the judgment to be rendered by the Chamber.

Information Office:
Mr. Arthur Witteveen, First Secretary of the Court (tel: +31 70 302 2336)

Mrs. Laurence Blairon and Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officers (tel: +31 70 302 2337)
E-mail address: [email protected]