Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) - Conclusion of public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by the Republic of Kenya - The Court to begin its deliberation

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
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Press Release

Unofficial

No. 2016/26
23 September 2016

Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya)

Conclusion of public hearings on the preliminary objections
raised by the Republic of Kenya

The Court to begin its deliberation

THE HAGUE, 23 September 2016. The public hearings on the preliminary objections raised
by Kenya in the case of Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) were
concluded today. The Court will now begin its deliberation.

During the hearings, which opened on Monday 19 September 2016 at the Peace Palace, seat

of the Court, the delegation of Kenya was led by Professor Githu Muigai, Attorney-General of the
Republic of Kenya, as Agent. The delegation of Somalia was led by H.E. Mr. Ali Said Faqi,
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Somalia to the Kingdom of Belgium, as Co-Agent.

The Court’s Judgment on the preliminary objections will be delivered at a public sitting, the
date of which will be announced in due course.

Submissions of the Parties

At the end of the hearings, the Agents of the Parties presented the following submissions to
the Court:

For Kenya:

“The Republic of Kenya respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare
that:

The case brought by Somalia against Kenya is not within the jurisdiction of the
Court and is inadmissible, and is accordingly dismissed.” - 2 -

For Somalia:

“On the basis of its Written Statement of 5 February 2016, and its oral
pleadings, Somalia respectfully requests the Court:

1. To reject the Preliminary Objections raised by the Republic of Kenya; and

2. To find that it has jurisdiction to entertain the Application filed by the Federal
Republic of Somalia.”

*

Internal judicial practice of the Court with respect to deliberations

Deliberations take place in private in accordance with the following procedure. The Court
first holds a preliminary deliberation, during which the President outlines the issues which, in his

opinion, require discussion and decision by the Court. A full deliberation is subsequently held, at
the end of which a drafting committee is chosen by secret ballot, taking account of the views
expressed. That committee consists in principle of two judges holding the majority view of the
Court, together with the President, unless it appears that his views are in the minority. The
committee prepares a preliminary draft text, which is the subject of written amendments. Two
further drafts are then produced in turn, each of which is subject to a detailed reading. In the
meantime, judges who wish to do so may prepare a declaration, a separate opinion or a dissenting

opinion, which are communicated to the other judges. The final vote is taken after adoption of the
final text of the judgment at the second reading.

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History of the proceedings

The history of the proceedings can be found in Press Release No. 2016/15 of 26 May 2016,
available on the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org) under the heading “Press Room”/“Press
Releases”.

___________

Note: The Court’s press releases do not constitute official documents. The complete verbatim

records of the hearings held from 19 to 21 and on 23 September 2016 are published on the website
of the Court (www.icj-cij.org).

___________

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in
April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six
principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York. The Court has a
twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by
States (its judgments have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned); and, - 3 -

second, to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized
United Nations organs and agencies of the system. The Court is composed of 15 judges elected for

a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations.
Independent of the United Nations Secretariat, it is assisted by a Registry, its own international
secretariat, whose activities are both judicial and diplomatic, as well as administrative. The official
languages of the Court are French and English. Also known as the “World Court”, it is the only
court of a universal character with general jurisdiction.

The ICJ, a court open only to States for contentious proceedings, and to certain organs and

institutions of the United Nations system for advisory proceedings, should not be confused with the
other  mostly criminal  judicial institutions based in The Hague and adjacent areas, such as the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY, an ad hoc court created by the
Security Council), the International Criminal Court (ICC, the first permanent international criminal
court, established by treaty, which does not belong to the United Nations system), the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL, an international judicial body with an independent legal personality,

established by the United Nations Security Council upon the request of the Lebanese Government
and composed of Lebanese and international judges), or the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA,
an independent institution which assists in the establishment of arbitral tribunals and facilitates
their work, in accordance with the Hague Convention of 1899).

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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, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Mr. Avo Sevag Garabet, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)