AG Githu Muigai in the Hague over KenyaSomalia maritime dispute

Attorney General Githu Muigai has led the Kenyan delegation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, to present Kenya’s submissions to the Court on the Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean in the Somalia verses Kenya Case.

The case arises from a claim by Somalia filed before the ICJ on the 28th of August 2014, requesting the Court to determine on the basis of international law, the boundary dividing all the maritime area between Kenya and Somalia in the Indian Ocean, including the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.

Kenya on the other hand contends that it has exercised uncontested jurisdiction over the disputed maritime areas since it first proclaimed its Exclusive Economic Zone, in 1979.

Kenya contends that the Court’s jurisdiction specifically excludes disputes where, as is the case here, the parties have agreed to another method of settlement.

The preliminary objection forms the core of the oral proceedings to be held between Monday and Friday this week.