INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)70 302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928
Website: www.icj-cij.org
Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2010/24
21 July 2010
Burkina Faso and Niger jointly submit a frontier dispute
to the International Court of Justice
THE HAGUE, 21 July 2010. On 20 July 2010, Burkina Faso and Niger jointly submitted a
frontier dispute between them to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
By a joint letter dated 12 May 2010 and filed in the Registry on 20 July 2010, the two States
notified the Court of a Special Agreement signe d in Niamey on 24February2009 which entered
into force on 20 November 2009.
Under the terms of Article1 of this Special Agreement, the Parties have agreed to submit
their frontier dispute to the Court, and that each of them will choose a judge ad hoc.
Article 2 of the Special Agreement indicates the subject of the dispute as follows:
“The Court is requested to:
1. determine the course of the boundary between the two countries in the
sector from the astronomic marker of Tong-Tong (latitude14°2' 4"N;
longitd147) to the beginning of the Botou bend
(latitude 12° 36' 18" N; longitude 01° 52' 07" E);
2. take cognizance of the Parties’ agreemen t on the results of the work of the Joint
Technical Commission on demarcation of the Burkina Faso-Niger boundary with
regard to the following sectors:
(a)the sector from the heights of N’Gouma to the astronomic marker of
Tong-Tong;
(b) the sector from the beginning of the Botou bend to the River Mekrou.”
In Article3, paragraph1, the Parties request the Court to authorize the following written
proceedings:
“(a) a Memorial filed by each Party not later than nine (9) months after the seising
of the Court;
(b) a Counter-Memorial filed by each Party not later than nine (9)months after
exchange of the Memorials; - 2 -
(c) any other pleading whose filing, at the request of either of the Parties, shall
have been authorized or directed by the Court.”
Article 7 of the Special Agreement, entitled “Judgment of the Court”, reads as follows:
“1. The Parties accept the Judgment of the Court given pursuant to this Special
Agreement as final and binding upon them.
2. From the day on which the Judgment is rendered, the Parties shall have eighteen
(18) months in which to commence the works of demarcation of the boundary.
3. In case of difficulty in the implementati on of the Judgment, either Party may seise
the Court pursuant to Article 60 of its Statute.
4. The Parties request the Court to nominate, in its Judgment, three (3)experts to
assist them in the demarcation.”
Lastly, Article 10 contains the following “Special undertaking”:
“Pending the Judgment of the Court, th e Parties undertake to maintain peace,
security and tranquillity among the populations of the two States in the frontier region,
refraining from any act of incursion into the disputed areas and organizing regular
meetings of administrative officials and the security services.
With regard to the creation of socio-economic infrastructure, the Parties
undertake to hold preliminary consultations prior to implementation.”
The Special Agreement was accompanied by an exchange of notes dated 29October and
2 November 2009 embodying the agreement between th e two States on the delimited sectors of the
frontier.
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The full text of the Special Agreement will be available shortly on the Court’s website
(www.icj-cij.org).
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Information Department:
Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department (+31 (0)70 302 2336)
Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Ms Joanne Moore, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Burkina Faso and Niger jointly submit a frontier dispute to the International Court of Justice