8 Mar 2011

ICJ / COSTA RICA-NICARAGUA BORDER DISPUTE

The International Court of Justice today requested that Costa Rica and Nicaragua refrain from stationing troops in the disputed territory and authorized Costa Rica to dispatch civilian personnel charged with the protection of the environment. The dispute stems from a claim of sovereignty over the island of Portillos and its surrounding wetlands. ICJ

Posted at: March 8, 2011 4:11 pm

Duration: 01:00

Available in: SD

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STORY: ICJ / COSTA RICA-NICARAGUA BORDER DISPUTE
TRT:  1.00
SOURCE: ICJ
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 3 MARCH 2011, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS

1.Wide shot, Great Hall of Justice
2.Med shot, Nicaragua delegation
3.Med shot, Costa Rica delegation
4.Med shot, judges
5.SOUNDBITE (English) Hisashi Owada, President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ):
"Costa Rica may dispatch civilian personnel charged with the protection of the environment to the disputed territory, including the Caño, but only in so far as it is necessary to avoid irreparable prejudice being caused to the part of the wetland where that territory is situated; Costa Rica shall consult with the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention in regard to these actions, give Nicaragua prior notice of them and use its best endeavours to find common solutions with Nicaragua in this respect."
6.Med shot, public listening 
7.Wide shot, Great Hall of Justice

STORYLINE:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, today (8 March) gave its decision in the case concerning a disputed border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

The decision called on both countries to refrain from stationing troops along the disputed territory in order to avoid any escalation.

The Court's order, which is binding for the Parties, authorizes Costa Rica, in certain specific circumstances, to dispatch civilian personnel there charged with the protection of the environment; and it calls on the Parties not to aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.

SOUNDBITE (English) Hisashi Owada, President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ):
"Costa Rica may dispatch civilian personnel charged with the protection of the environment to the disputed territory, including the Caño, but only in so far as it is necessary to avoid irreparable prejudice being caused to the part of the wetland where that territory is situated; Costa Rica shall consult with the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention in regard to these actions, give Nicaragua prior notice of them and use its best endeavours to find common solutions with Nicaragua in this respect."

Costa Rica claims sovereignty over the entirety of Isla Portillos and over the Colorado River and, on the other hand, its right to protect the environment in those areas over which it is sovereign.

Nicaragua, for its part, contends that it holds the title to sovereignty over the northern part of Isla Portillos, and argues that its dredging of the San Juan River, over which it has sovereignty, has only a negligible impact on the flow of the Colorado River, over which Costa Rica has sovereignty.

The Court states that, at this stage of the proceedings, it cannot settle the Parties' competing claims as regards the right to assert sovereignty over the disputed territory.