Pedra Branca hearings start next week at int'l court
HEARINGS into the overlapping claims that Singapore and Malaysia have to Pedra Branca island will start in The Hague, Holland, next week. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set aside three weeks from Nov 6 to hear the case, which both countries agreed to bring before the court in 2003.
Tue, Oct 30, 2007
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set aside three weeks from Nov 6 to hear the case, which both countries agreed to bring before the court in 2003.
The hearings at the Peace Palace, where the 15-member court is located, follow three rounds of written pleadings that Singapore and Malaysia exchanged between Mar 2004 and Nov 2005.
These exchanges of documents were the result of a Special Agreement both sides signed on Feb 6, 2003, to submit the dispute over Pedra Branca and two outcrops - the Middle Rocks and Southern Ledge - to the ICJ.
Singapore has exercised sovereignty over the football field-sized Pedra Branca island east of Singapore since the 1840s when the British colonial government built the Horsburgh lighthouse there.
The island, about 40km east of here, is located strategically at the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait.
But in 1979, Malaysia staked its claim on the island -which it calls Pulau Batu Putih - when it published a new map of its territories, which included Pedra Branca.
The dispute dragged on until Feb 2003 when both countries agreed formally to refer the dispute to the ICJ.
Singapore's delegation to the hearing comprises Deputy Prime Minister and Law Minister S. Jayakumar, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin and Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh.
When announcing the dates on Tuesday, a Foreign Affairs Ministry statement said they will be accompanied by senior government officials.
The delegation includes an experienced team of international legal counsels:
According to the ICJ's website, Singapore has four days from Nov 6 to 9 to present its case. It is then Malaysia?s turn from Nov 13 to 16.
Both sides then respond: Singapore on Nov 19 and 20, and Malaysia on Nov 22 and 23.
The ICJ was set up by the United Nations in 1946 to deal with legal disputes between states.
Singapore and Malaysia have both said they will accept the court's decision, which is expected out only next year.