Kenya Seeks Out-of-court Settlement in Maritime Territory Dispute with Somalia

Kenya is seeking an out-of-court settlement over a maritime territory dispute with Somalia.

The case, whose hearing was initially scheduled for September 9th to 11th by the International Court of Justice, was postponed to 4th November after Kenya asked for time to recruit a new legal defence team

Kenyan officials now say an out-of-court settlement is preferable because of its likelihood of generating a durable and peaceful solution for both countries. The settlement is also the preferred framework by UN, AU and IGAD.

The area in dispute is some 100,000 square kilometres of water said to contain hydrocarbons and fish resources.

Kenya wants the maritime border to run along parallel latitude, South East of Kiunga, while Somalia, on the other hand, is arguing for a diagonal line down the Kenyan Coast. This threatens to make Kenya a landlocked country and risks losing 42% of its maritime territory.