Somali Government will present its oral pleadings to the International Court of Justice (the “Court”) in The Hague

Date : September 19,2016
Mogadishu – Somalia  |

Press Statement  –
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  | 

During the week of 19 September 2016, the Somali Government will present its oral pleadings to the International Court of Justice (the “Court”) in The Hague, the Netherlands in connection with the preliminary objections filed on 7 October 2015 by the Republic of Kenya (the “Kenyan Government”), to the maritime delimitation case filed by the Federal Republic of Somalia (the “Somali Government”) with the Court on 28 August 2014.

During the hearings, the Somali Government will request the Court to dismiss the preliminary objections filed by the Kenyan Government as unfounded and lacking merit. The Somali Government does not believe that the purported Memorandum of Understanding dated 7th April 2009, between the Somali Government and the Kenyan Government, to establish an agreed method of dispute settlement, let alone an exclusive method. Therefore, the Somali Government does not see any obstacles to the Court’s jurisdiction. The Somali Government strongly believes in the strength of its legal case and looks forward to a fair and just decision from the Court.

The Somali and the Kenyan peoples share strong cultural and historical ties that cannot be severed or affected by any disagreements between them. Indeed, the Somali and the Kenyan peoples’ destiny and future are indissolubly interconnected. Hence, the Somali Government is committed to continuing to work hard in close cooperation with its brothers and sisters in Kenya to address the other pressing issues confronting both nations and the region.