Written Observations of El Salvador on the Written Statement of Nicaragua

I
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

PLEADINGS, ORAL ARGUMENTS, DOCUMENTS

CASE CONCERNING THE LAND, ISLAND

AND MARITIMEERONTIER DISPUTE

(EL SALVADORIHONDURAS : NICARAGUA iniervening)

VOLUME VE
Written Statement of Nica;Written Observations of El Salvador
and Honduras; Documents; Oral Arguments

COUR INTERNATIONALDE JUSTICE

MEMOIRES, PLAIDOIRlES ET DOCUMENTS

AFFAIRE DU DIFFEREND FRONTALIER

TERRESTRE, INSULAIRE ET MARITIME

(EL SALVADORIHONDURAS; NICARAGUA (intervenant))

VOLUME VI
DEclaraiion écritedu Nicaraguc~; observations écritesd'El Salvador
- ct du Honduras; documents; procédure orale OBSERVATIONS OP EL SALVADOR

ON THE WRITTENSTATEMENI' OF NICARAGUA

1. In accordance with the Order of the Çhamber, dated 13 September 1990,
the Government of El Salvüdor wishes ta present and register the following
observations in respect of the written Declaration of14 December 1990, pre-
sented by Nicaragua during the current proceedings,whereby it was considerd
necessary "to infrirm tlie Chainber of its clairns so that the decision of the
Chamber be confined tu those areas in whlch Nicaragua kas no claims".
2. Concerning the opinion expressedby Nicaragua, El Salvador manifests its
total agreementwith paragraph 35 of the Declaration, inasmuch as the rights of
Nicaragua and El Salvador over the waters and plalîorrn within the Gulf wist
ip~v@CIO and ab initia bvirtue of their sovereigntyover the land. El Salvador
and Nicaragua share a comrnon frontier in the waters af the Gulf. This is
indisputable and resiilts froin a simple observation of the geographical position
of both countries.
3. The Government of ElSalvador also expresses itstotal agreement with the
viewsexpressedby the Government of Nicaragua in paragraphs 45, 46 and 47 of
its Declaration relative to the delimitation of the land and sca borders of the

latter country, undestakenwith Ilondurasin 1900. On the other hand, the Gov-
ernment of El Salvador wishcs to emphasize the hct that the decision of the
Ccntral American Court of Justice recognizedthe deliinitation berween Hon-
duras and Nicaragua effccted on the basis of the Chez-Bonilla Treaty of
tliütsame year, and that such delimitation and demarcation ulas definitive. In
other words there remained no other land or maritime areas betwee~ithe two
countries which would require siibsequeiit dcliniitation. As the aforeinentioned
Treaty 1sclear and precise,which was exprcssedby Nicaragua in paragraph 49,
aiid since the sovereignty of El Salvador over the islands of Meanguera and
Meünguerrta which form an iiitegrdlpart of El Salvador as stated by Nicaragua
1sindisputable,it is thcrefore unquestionable that ". . . there is no basis for any
furtherdelimitatiori involvingHonduras inthe Gulf . .".
The Government of El Salvador does not consider it pertinent to enter into
discussions with Nicaragua as to thc basror bases on which a possible delimi-
ration couldbe effectcd.
The Government of El Salvador wishcsto point out that, in paragrüph 52 of
its written Declaration, Nicaragua expresses its opinion wiih regard to the
delimitation outsidc the Gulff Fonseca in tcrrns which indicate that Nicaragua
shares the point of view of El Salvador in the sense that such delimitationais
matter cxclusivelybetween El Salvador and Nicaragua. The Government of El
Salvador welcornes tliis confirmation of the position taken throughout the
present case and affirms its belief that such delimita~ionamatter which can

only be reçeivedby agreement between ElSalvador and Nicaragua on the basis
of international law.
4. At the same tirne, regarding Nicaragua's expressedpoint of view wiih
respect todelimitation within the Gulf, the Government of El Salvador must
take the strictest reservations.Nicaragwas not granted the right to intervene
in the qucstion of delimitation within the Gulf.
5. Concerning the observations inade by Nicaragua in respect of the legal
statusof the waters within the Gulf of Fonseca, El Salvlidor'sposition will be32 DISPUTE (EI. ÇAI.VADOR/HONUURAS) Pl

amplified indue course during thc verbal proceedings.At the SamE tirne, the
Governrnent of El Salvador would Iike to reserve its position generally witli
regard tothe posturc of Nicaragiia relating to the iiitcrpretatioii, legal effect iind
subsequent consequencesof the decision of thr:Central American CourtofJus-
ticc, as well as the denial by Nicüragua that the waters of the Gulf of Fonseca

are siibjcctoa condominium.

(Signeri)Alfredo MAU-I~~N EZ RENO,
Agent.

The Hague, The Netherlands, 14 March 1991.

(Sigiied)Roberto Artuso ÇASTKILLO 1-IDALGO,
Ambassador and Co-Agent of El Salvador.