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International Court of Justice backs Colombia’s claim over disputed Caribbean islands
[PHOTO: UNifeed]
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The Hague: The principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the
International Court of Justice (ICJ), has ruled that Colombia, and not
Nicaragua, had sovereignty over seven disputed islands in the Caribbean Sea.
In its judgment, which is final and binding, the Court found
that Roncador, Quitasueño, Serrana, Serranilla, Bajo Nuevo, Cayo Bolivar and
Alburquerque belonged to Colombia.
The long-running territorial and maritime dispute between
the two countries first brought before the ICJ in 2001, also concerned the
maritime delimitation between them.
As part of this ruling, the Court – which is based in The
Hague – proceeded to delimit the continental shelf and the exclusive economic
zones of Nicaragua and Colombia in the area lying 200 nautical miles off the
Nicaraguan coasts.
In a 2007 judgment, the ICJ had already held that it had no
jurisdiction with regard to Nicaragua's claim to sovereignty over the islands
of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, because this question had been
determined by a 1928 treaty by which Nicaragua recognized Colombian sovereignty
over these islands.
Established in 1945 under the UN Charter, the ICJ –
sometimes referred to as the World Court – settles legal disputes between
States and gives advisory opinions on legal questions that have been referred
to it by authorized UN organs or specialized agencies. -UNifeed