INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE’S ADJUDICATION PROCESS IN THE NIGERIAN-CAMEROON CRISIS

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE’S ADJUDICATION PROCESS IN THE NIGERIAN-CAMEROON CRISIS

ABSTRACT

This Research work is centered mainly on the International Court of Justice‟s adjudication process in the Nigerian-Cameroon conflict. The research examines how judgment over the conflict was passed by the International Court of Justice and how they ensured justice was achieved in determining who the sovereignty over the peninsula lies with.

The research for this study was conducted using secondary sources of data collection, that is, data and materials were gathered majorly from Journals, Internet Sources, Newspapers and few Textbooks. Results from the research work reveal that the International Court of Justice declared Cameroon the sovereign owner of the Bakassi Peninsula region on the basis of the Anglo-German Treaty of 1913. It also showed how the United Nations Secretary General, Koffi Annan, used his good offices to secure Nigeria and Cameroon‟s commitment to abide by any judgment reached by the court. This he did by holding several meetings between the presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon, Obasanjo and Biya. The efforts of Koffi Annan, however, paved the way for the Green Tree Accord that served as the backbone to the International Court of Justice‟s decision. The study thus concludes that contrary to popular conception about the unfairness of the outcome to Nigeria, the court process was, in fact, transparent open and fair to both parties. This gives to demonstrate the significance of process as a key determinant of outcomes.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The Hague Peace Conferences (1890 & 1907) were held to address the issue of International arbitration and the work of these two conferences inspired and had an influence on the creation of the Central American Court of Justice (1908 – 1918). The conferences also had a bearing on the various plans and proposals that were submitted between 1911 and 1919, both by national and international bodies and by governments, for the establishment of an international judicial tribunal which culminated in the creation of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) dafter the end of the First World War. On October 30 1943, following a conference between China, the USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States, a joined statement was issued “recognising the necessity of establishing a general international organization, based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace-loving states and open to members of such states, for the maintenance of international peace and security.” This declaration results in the publication on 9th October 1944, of proposals for the establishment of a general international organization to include an International Court of Justice.1 At the San Francisco Conference (1945), in which 50 states participated, it was decided that an entirely new court be created on the basis of PCIJ‟s past experience. The International Court of Justice was to be one of the principal organs of the United Nations necessitated the dissolution of its predecessor, PCIJ, but it was agreed the Statute of the PCIJ was a very valuable tool for any future court, and that it should be maintained. The Statute of the ICJ was adopted on 16 June

Flowing from the foregoing, it can be said that the creation of the International Court of Justice represented the culmination of a long development of methods for the pacific settlement of international disputes, the origins of which can be traced back to classical times. Article 33 of the United Nations Charter lists the following methods for the pacific settlement of disputes between States: negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and resort to regional agencies or arrangements of good offices should also be added to the list.2

The International Court of Justice is the world's highest international court and the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The ICJ has its seat in the Peace Palace in The Hague. ICJ's primary purpose is based on Article 2 of the UN Charter which states that "all members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered." As such, the ICJ has a dual role:

A. To give judgements on contentious cases submitted to it by States, in accordance with international law and

B. To hand down advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of the United Nations organs and specialized agencies.

Only States may apply to and appear before Court. The Court decides in accordance with international treaties and conventions in force, international custom, the general principles of law and, as subsidiary means, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly-qualified publicists. The Court is competent to entertain a dispute only if the States concerned have accepted its jurisdiction in one or more of the following ways:

A. By the conclusion between them of a special agreement to submit the dispute to the Court;

B. By virtue of a jurisdictional clause, i.e., typically, when they are parties to a treaty containing a provision whereby, in the event of a disagreement over its interpretation or application, one of them may refer the dispute to the Court. Several hundred treaties or conventions contain a clause to such effect

C. Through the reciprocal effect of declarations made by them under the Statute whereby each has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory in the event of a dispute with another State having made a similar declaration. The declarations of sixty States are at present in force, a number of them having been made subject to the exclusion of certain categories of dispute.

In cases of doubt as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, it is the Court itself which decides. The procedure followed by the Court in contentious cases is defined in its Statute and in Rules of Court adopted by it under the Statute. The Rules now in force were adopted on 14 April 1978. The proceedings include a written phase, in which parties file and exchange pleadings, and an oral phase consisting of public hearings at which agents and counsel address the Court. As the Court has two official languages (English and French) everything written or said in one is translated into the other.

After the oral proceedings the Court deliberates in private and then delivers its judgement at a public sitting. The judgement is final and without appeal. Should one of the States involved fail to comply with it, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council of the United Nations. The advisory procedure of the Court is open solely to international organizations. The only bodies at present authorized to request advisory opinions of the Court are six organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family. The Statute of the ICJ was adopted on 16 June 1945, together with the United Nations Charter. Both came into force on 24 October of the same year.

The organization of the International Court of Justice is governed by Articles 2-33 of the Statute of the Court and by Articles 1-18 and 32-37 of the Rules of the Court. The Court comprises the President, Vice-President, the full Court, Chambers, Registrar and Registry. The Court elects its own President and Vice-President for three years. It remains permanently in session, except during judicial vacations. The full Court is composed of 15 judges who are elected to 9 year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council sitting independently of each other. Judges may be re-elected but the Court may not include more than one national of any State. Members of the Court do not represent their governments but are independent magistrates; they must possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, be of high moral character and be highly-respected and well-recognized jurists in international law.5 The Court discharges its duties as a full Court but, at the request of the parties, it may also establish a Special Chamber. A Chamber is composed of a minimum of three judges who are elected by the Court by secret ballot. The Court constituted such a Chamber in 1982 for the first time, formed a second one in 1985 and constituted two more in 1987. A Chamber of Summary Procedure is elected every year by the Court in accordance with its Statute. In July 1993, the Court also established a seven-member Chamber to deal with any environmental cases falling within its jurisdiction.

5 The International Court of Justice Retrieved from www.wikipedia.com/history/icj 5

The Registry is the permanent administrative organ of the ICJ. Generally speaking, the work of the Registry of the Court covers four different areas:

A. Judicial

B. Diplomatic

C. Administrative and

D. Linguistic.

The Registry comprises a Registrar, a Deputy-Registrar and other officials. The Registrar and Deputy-Registrar are appointed by the Court for a period of seven years. They are eligible for re-election at the end of their terms. The other officials of the Registry are appointed by the Court on proposals submitted by the Registrar, or by the Registrar himself with the President's approval. The Registrar is the Chief Administrative Officer of the Court and apart from his judicial, diplomatic, administrative and linguistic duties; he is also responsible for the annual publication of the ICJ's Yearbook and Bibliography of the International Court of Justice, as well as other official publications of the Court. The Registrar is assisted by the Deputy Registrar who acts as the Registrar in his absence.

BAKASSI PENINSULA

The area called Bakassi is a peninsula on the African Atlantic Gulf of Guinea. It lies between the Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar in the west, and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east. It is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty from neighbouring Nigeria as a result of a judgement by the International Court of Justice on 14 August 2008. The Bakassi peninsula consists of a number of low-lying, largely mangrove dominated islands, on the Cameroon-Nigeria border, at the South-Eastern end of the Gulf of Guinea. The population of Bakassi has been a subject of controversy, but is generally put between 150,000 and 300,000 people. Bakassi is located at the edge of the Gulf of Guinea, where the warm east-flowing Guinea current meets the cold north-flowing Benguela current.7 What is known as the Bakassi Peninsula today, became a part of the British protectorate on September 10th 1884 following the signing of an agreement between the Obong of today‟s Nigeria and the British. This agreement included the extension of “British protection” to the Obong and their chiefs who promised not to enter into further agreements with other foreign powers without prior permission from British government. The Peninsula is commonly described as “oil-rich”, though in fact no commercially viable deposits of oil have been discovered. The area has however attracted the interest of oil companies in the light of the discovery of rich reserves of high grade crude oil in Nigeria. At least eight multinational oil companies have participated in the exploration of the peninsula and its offshore waters. Nigeria and Cameroon disputed the possession of Bakassi for years, leading to considerable tension between the two countries. In 1998, the two countries almost went to war over the peninsula and another area around Lake Chad, which are located at the other end of the two countries common border. More serious conflicts broke out in early 1990, and on 29th March 1994, Cameroon presented the matter to the International Court of Justice.8

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The resource rich Bakassi peninsula has been a bone of contention between Nigeria and Cameroon dating back to colonial period. Hostilities and military confrontations broke out in the early 1990‟s, thus Cameroon demanded the International Court of

Justice intervene to help settle the dispute over its boundary with Nigeria, especially on the question of sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula. After eight years of judicial deliberation, the court delivered its judgement on 10th October 2002, transferring the possession of the peninsula over to Cameroon, but did not require inhabitants to move or change their nationality. This study is set to examine and analyse the International Court of Justice‟s adjudication process over the Bakassi conflict. It also aims to clarify impartiality of the judgement passed by the court. That is, clarification has become necessary because of the fact that the President of the International Court of Justice when the verdict was passed was a French man and also because Cameroon was colonised by France and these two countries maintained a good relationship with each other in terms of trade and other aspects of international relations. This situation of event could necessitate a hasty conclusion that the judgement passed by the ICJ on the ownership of the Bakassi Peninsula was in way, influenced by the historical ties that existed between France and Cameroon, and also because France could have been favoured indirectly as a result of the positive judgement in favour of Cameroon over the Bakassi Peninsula episode.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The objectives of this study are to:

 Examine the adjudication process over the Nigerian-Cameroon crisis.

 Examine the roles played by the parties involved in the conflict in securing successes for themselves (Nigeria and Cameroon).

 Examine the role played by some great powers in the international system peacefully bringing an end to the conflict.

TOPIC: INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE’S ADJUDICATION PROCESS IN THE NIGERIAN-CAMEROON CRISIS

Chapters: 1 - 5
Delivery: Email

Number of Pages: 65

Price: 3000 NGN

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