Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger) - The Court to deliver its Judgment on Tuesday 16 April 2013 at 10 a.m.

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. 2013/5
8 April 2013

Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger)

The Court to deliver its Judgment on Tuesday 16 April 2013 at 10 a.m.

THE HAGUE, 8 April 2013. On Tuesday 16 April 2013, the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its Judgment in the
case concerning the Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger).

A public sitting will take place at 10 a.m. (The Hague time), during which the President of
the Court, Mr. Peter Tomka, will read the Court’s Judgment. It is recalled that the judgments of the
Court have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned.

1. Live and on-demand webcasts

This sitting will first be broadcast live and in full on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org,
under the heading “Multimedia”) and on the online television channel “UN Web TV”
(http://webtv.un.org/). It will subsequently also be available as a recorded webcast (VOD) on the
UN Web TV site (http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/).

2. Accreditation/admission procedures

Members of the diplomatic corps

Because of the limited number of seats available in the Great Hall of Justice, the Information
Department requests members of the diplomatic corps who plan to attend this sitting to notify it
accordingly before midnight on Thursday 11 April 2013 (The Hague time), by e-mail to
[email protected].

Media representatives

An online accreditation procedure is open to the media on the Court’s website (click on
“Calendar”) until midnight on Thursday 11 April 2013. For further practical information for the
media, see point 4 below. - 2 -

Members of the public (groups and individuals)

Individual visitors and groups are subject to an online admission procedure and must submit
their applications through the Court’s website (click on “Attending a hearing/sitting”) before
midnight on Thursday 11 April 2013.

3. History of the proceedings

The history of the written proceedings can be found in the Annual Report of the
Court 2011-2012 (paragraphs 219-221), which can be downloaded from the Court’s website

(www.icj-cij.org), under the heading “The Court”>“Annual Reports”. At the end of the public
hearings held in October 2012, the Parties presented their final submissions to the Court: these can
be found in Press Release No. 2012/30, which is available on the Court’s website.

During those hearings, Burkina Faso argued that, in order to delimit the part of the frontier
forming the subject of its present dispute with Niger, the Court should rely on an Arrêté issued in
1927 by the Governor-General of French West Africa (FWA), as modified by an Erratum of the

same year.

For its part, Niger contended that the 1927 Arrêté and Erratum were not precise enough to
determine the frontier line in certain sectors and that, in order to do so, the Court should use a map
produced in 1960 by the French Institut géographique national (IGN); it further argued that, in
certain sectors, the Court should adjust the frontier line shown on that map to take account of
effectivités (material evidence of territorial sovereignty).

Consequently, the frontier line claimed by Niger runs to the south-west of that claimed by
Burkina Faso. The main point of disagreement between the Parties relates to the Bossébangou
region, which lies in the centre of the area at issue in this case.

4. Practical information for the press

Entry times and procedures for the Peace Palace

Media representatives must bring with them their personal ID and press card. They are
asked to arrive at the Peace Palace gates between 9 and 9.30 a.m. Only duly accredited individuals
with valid identification will be permitted to enter the Peace Palace grounds. The Press Room will
be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Parking at the Peace Palace

No parking is allowed in the Peace Palace grounds except for satellite vehicles. Media
wishing to park satellite vehicles are requested to fill in the appropriate fields in the online
accreditation form. NB: Television media wishing to broadcast the live reading of the Judgment
should contact the Information Department in advance.

Access to the courtroom

Filming and photography is only permitted for a few minutes at the start of the sitting.

Photographers and camera crews will be accompanied by Registry staff members and must keep to
the right-hand side of the room. Media representatives will be able to follow the reading from the
Press Room. - 3 -

Press Room

The proceedings will be transmitted live on a large screen, in English and French, in the
usual Press Room. The room is equipped with Wi-Fi internet access. Live video and audio feeds
are available via the breakout box (PAL video output). The Press Room will be open from 9 a.m.
to 2 p.m.

___________

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)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)