Kenya loses out to Somalia in maritime border arbitration

In a ruling that favoured Somalia’s claim of a border line equidistant to its land border, the court disputed Kenya’s claim that Somalia had historically acquiesced to its border claim.

The court found “…there is no agreed maritime boundary between the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Republic of Kenya that follows the parallel of latitude”, thereby disputing Nairobi’s claim.

Instead, the court, in a ruling read by the court’s president, Judge Joan E. Donoghue (USA), split the disputed maritime region by shifting the equidistance border Somalia claims slightly northwards, splitting the triangle in half.

It argued that the equidistance line would have a cut-off effect on Kenya’s maritime territory. It also declined Somalia’s submissions that Kenya had violated its territorial integrity and international laws in the disputed region.

‘Obvious and inherent bias’

The decision to split the