Burkina Faso–Niger Frontier Dispute case

Last updated
Burkina Faso-Niger Frontier Dispute case
International Court of Justice Seal.svg
Court International Court of Justice
Full case nameFrontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger)
Decided16 April 2013 (2013-04-16)
Citation(s)Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013
Court membership
Judges sitting Peter Tomka (President), Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor (Vice-President), Hisashi Owada, Ronny Abraham, Kenneth Keith, Mohamed Bennouna, Leonid Skotnikov, Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, Christopher Greenwood, Xue Hanqin, Joan E. Donoghue, Giorgio Gaja, Julia Sebutinde, Dalveer Bhandari, Ahmed Mahiou (ad hoc), Yves Daudet (ad hoc)
Case opinions
Declaration: Mohamed Bennouna

Separate Opinion: Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade
Separate Opinion: Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf
Separate Opinion: Ahmed Mahiou

Contents

Separate Opinion: Yves Daudet

The Burkina Faso-Niger frontier dispute case (2013) was a public international law case with the International Court of Justice served by the West African states of Burkina Faso and Niger, which share a border. Both nations submitted a border dispute to the court in 2010. The court delivered its judgement in 2013, and the parties implemented it in 2015 and 2016. [1]

History

The dispute concerned the border between Burkina Faso and Niger, both of which occupy territory previously held by the French colonies of Upper Volta and Niger, respectively. Discussion regarding the border began shortly after the nations gained their independence, with an agreement first attempted in the Protocol Agreement of 23 June 1964, [2] and another in the Protocol Agreement of 28 March 1987. [3]

The 1987 Protocol established a Joint Technical Commission on Demarcation of the Frontier, which had the responsibility of determining the specifics of the border. It would do so by consulting a 1927 Arrêté from the Governor-General of French West Africa, and a clarifying Erratum of 5 October 1927. Where the Arrêté was insufficient, the commission would refer to a 1:200,000 scale map published by the Institut géographique national de France, 1960 edition. [4]

By 2001, the commission had determined a border line that could be split into three sectors. The first and most northerly sector ran south from N'Gouma to the astronomic marker of Tong-Tong. The second sector, from Tong-Tong to the Botou Bend. The third and most southerly sector, from the Botou bend to the Mekrou River, where both countries border Benin. [5]

Burkina Faso and Niger agreed on the first and third sectors but disagreed on the second, having different interpretations of the Arrêté. They concluded a special agreement that referred their dispute over the second sector to the ICJ. Burkina Faso also requested the court to place on record the boundary agreed to in the first and third sectors, to give it res judicata . [6]

The matter was referred to the ICJ on 20 July 2010. [7]

Judgment

The International Court of Justice delivered its Judgement on 16 April 2013. [8] The unanimous judgement mentioned the importance of the principles of uti possidetis juris and the intangibility of borders, in affirming the authority of the 1927 Arrêté over this matter. Judge Yusuf wrote in a separate opinion that uti possidetis juris and the intangibility of borders should be considered separate and distinct principles; the former being a guide to the determination of borders, and the latter being respect for borders already determined. [9]

The court found it did not have jurisdiction to place the agreed to sectors on the record as its exercise of judicial functions required the existence of a dispute, and it was clear both parties agreed on this matter. [10]

Under the border determined by the court, 786 square kilometres (303 square miles) of territory was assigned to Burkina Faso and 277 km2 (107 sq mi) to Niger. In 2015, the two nations agreed to exchange 18 towns over the following year (Burkina Faso to gain 14, Niger to gain four). [11]

Leaders from both nations were reported to be satisfied with the ruling and were departing amicably. [12]

Merits

The section in dispute between the Tong-Tong astronomic marker to the Botou bend was further divided into four sections: [13]

  1. From the Tong-Tong astronomic marker to the Tao astronomic marker;
  2. From the Tao marker to the River Sirba at Bossé-bangou;
  3. From Bossé-bangou to the intersection of the Sirba with the Say parallel;
  4. From the intersection to the point located 1200m to the west of the village of Tchenguiliba, referred to as the Botou bend.

(1) Tong-Tong to Tao markers

Source: [14]

Both Parties were in agreement on the location of the Tong-Tong astronomic marker at 14° 25´ 04˝N, 00° 12´ 47˝E, but had slightly different coordinates for the Tao marker. The court found it unnecessary to determine the precise location of the Tao marker as it was not a point of significant disagreement, and the Parties could determine the co-ordinates during demarcation operations.

The 1927 Arrêté had not specified how these two points should be connected, so the Parties differed in how it should be interpreted. Burkina Faso argued that the failure to specify implies these points should be connected with a straight line. Niger relied on a Record of Agreement of 13 April 1935 that had been established to settle a dispute between the residents of Dori and Téra. It referred to the 1927 Arrêté and asserted a notional line between the two markers, but running through a marker at Vibourié, situated east of a straight line between the markers.

A map of the Burkina Faso-Niger border at 18 November 1974, by the US State Department. Burkina Faso-Niger border.png
A map of the Burkina Faso-Niger border at 18 November 1974, by the US State Department.

The court held in favour of Burkina Faso. It believed that the easterly location of the Vibourié marker was a topographical error, as the Record of Agreement made clear the drafter believed the marker to lie on the straight line between the Tong-Tong and Tao markers.

(2) Tao marker to the River Sirba at Bossé-bangou

Source: [15]

The 1927 Arrêté was again imprecise on how these points were to be connected. Burkina Faso took the same reasoning as for the first section, that the implication should be a straight line. Niger argued that as the 1927 Arrêté was imprecise, reference should be to the 1960 map as the Parties had agreed to in article 2 of the special agreement. [6] The border on the map was sinuous, however Niger further departed from it in their drawing to the effect that the border would run to a point north-west of Bossé-bangou. They relied on the descriptions of the area from other documents that suggested the 1927 Arrêté was incorrectly drawn on this point. The 1927 Arrêté's raison d’être was to delineate new borders after the transfer of certain districts from the Colony of Upper Volta to the Colony of Niger, and the border it delineated did not properly account for those districts. Niger argued that according to the principle of uti possidetis juris, in the absence of legal title the border should be drawn according to the effectivités.

The court held that its mandate was to interpret and apply the 1927 Arrêté and, if it were inadequate, to use the 1960 map and not other principles of law. The court decided to follow the line drawn on the 1960 map; not in reasoning, but in effect a middle-ground between the Parties.

(3) Bossé-bangou to the intersection of the Sirba with the Say parallel

The court considered that as villages on either side of the border required access to water, the 1927 Arrêté would have intended the border to on the median line of the River Sirba and not on either bank. It found the wording was then clear on the border following the Sirba upstream and departing and turning at intersections of the river with lines of longitude and latitude, the final turn at the longitude where the Say parallel intersects with the River Sirba (at 13º 06’ 12.08”N, 00° 59´ 30.9˝E). [16]

(4) The intersection to Botou bend

Both parties agreed on the point referred to as the Botou bend. Having located the intersection, the court had only to determine the line between these two points. Burkina Faso argued the 1927 Arrêté specified that this would be a straight line. Niger relied on colonial and postcolonial effectivités to argue that the two nations had come to an implicit agreement regarding a line that closer followed the 1960 map. Burkina Faso disputed this and the court found it had no evidence of such an agreement, concluding that the 1927 Arrêté was clear and should be followed. [17]

Notes

  1. Press Release No 2010/24 Archived 2012-04-29 at the Wayback Machine International Court of Justice.
  2. Protocol of Agreement between the Republic of Niger and the Republic of Upper Volta, Niamey , 23 June 1964, 2707 UNTS 23 (entered into force 23 June 1964).
  3. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Niger and the Revolutionary Government of Burkina Faso on the establishment of the border between the two countries, Ouagadougou , 28 March 1987, 2707 UNTS 31 (entered into force 28 March 1987).
  4. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Niger and the Revolutionary Government of Burkina Faso on the establishment of the border between the two countries, Ouagadougou, 28 March 1987, 2707 UNTS 31 (entered into force 28 March 1987), art 2.
  5. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013 , p 64 [28].
  6. 1 2 Special Agreement seising the International Court of Justice of the boundary dispute between Burkina Faso and the Republic of Niger. Niamey, 24 February 2009, 2707 UNTS 49 (entered into force 20 November 2009)
  7. Joint letter of notification to the registrar of the International Court of Justice (2010) ICJ General List No. 149
  8. "Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger) The Court to deliver its Judgment on Tuesday 16 April 2013 at 10 a.m." (PDF). International Court of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03.
  9. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013, p 134 (Separate Opinion of Judge Yusuf)
  10. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013 , p 31 [52].
  11. Burkina Faso and Niger exchange 18 towns to settle border dispute, The Guardian (May 8, 2015).
  12. "Niger-Burkina Faso border set by ICJ ruling". BBC News. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  13. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013, p 77 [70]
  14. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013, p 77-79 [72]-[79].
  15. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013, p 79-85 [80]-[99].
  16. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013, p 85-89 [100]-[106].
  17. Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2013, p 90-92 [108]-[112].

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakassi</span> Peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea

Bakassi is a peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea. It lies between the Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar 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 judgment by the International Court of Justice. On 22 November 2007, the Nigerian Senate rejected the transfer, since the Greentree Agreement ceding the area to Cameroon was contrary to Section 12(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Regardless, the territory was completely ceded to Cameroon on 14 August 2008, exactly two years after the first part of it was transferred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Court of Justice</span> Primary judicial organ of the United Nations

The International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. The ICJ is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between countries, with its rulings and opinions serving as primary sources of international law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Niger</span> Overview of Nigers foreign relations

Niger pursues a moderate foreign policy and maintains friendly relations with both East and West. It is a member state of the United Nations. Niger maintains a special relationship with France and enjoys close relations with its West African neighbours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Sankara</span> President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabè military officer, Marxist revolutionary and Pan-Africanist who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his assassination in 1987. He is viewed by supporters as a charismatic and iconic figure of revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agacher Strip War</span> War fought by Burkina Faso and Mali

The Agacher Strip War or Christmas War was a war fought by Burkina Faso and Mali over a 160-kilometre-long (100 mi) strip of land along the border in northern Burkina Faso from 25 to 30 December 1985. The war ended in a ceasefire. The Agacher Strip had been subject to a border dispute between Mali and Burkina Faso since the 1960s. Following armed clashes in 1974, both countries agreed to mediation to resolve their differences. Progress on a solution stalled, and in 1983 Burkinabé President Thomas Sankara and Malian President Moussa Traoré decided to have the border dispute settled by the International Court of Justice and subsequently petitioned the body to resolve the issue.

Territorial disputes of Nicaragua include the territorial dispute with Colombia over the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina and Quita Sueño Bank. Nicaragua also has a maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea and a boundary dispute over the Rio San Juan with Costa Rica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romania–Ukraine relations</span> Bilateral relations

Romania–Ukraine relations are foreign relations between Romania and Ukraine. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established on February 9, 1918, and re-established in 1992. In 2020, it was announced that Romania would open a consulate for Ukraine in Sighetu Marmației.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Téra Department</span> Department in Tillabéri Region, Niger

Téra is a department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Its capital lies at the city of Téra. As of 2011, the department had a total population of 579,658 people.

The Samira Hill Gold Mine is a gold mine in Téra Department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Opened in late 2004, it is the first industrial scale gold mine in the nation, and while operated by a Canadian/Moroccan consortia, the government of Niger owns both a 20% stake in its operation, and functions under government concession. The mine, and the possibility that other gold concessions will follow, is projected to be an important component of future export revenue for the West African state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case</span> Case about who would rightfully own the Black Sea islands

The Case concerning maritime delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v Ukraine) [2009] ICJ 3 was a decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). On September 16, 2004, Romania brought its case to the court after unsuccessful bilateral negotiations. On February 3, 2009, the court handed down its verdict, establishing a maritime boundary including the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones for Romania and Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin–Niger border</span> International border

The Benin–Niger border is 277 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Burkina Faso in the west to the tripoint with Nigeria in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mali–Niger border</span> International border

The Mali–Niger border is 828 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Burkina Faso in the west to the tripoint with Algeria in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burkina Faso–Niger border</span> International border

The Burkina Faso–Niger border is 622 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Mali in the north to the tripoint with Benin in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin–Burkina Faso border</span> International border

The Benin–Burkina Faso border is 386 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Togo in the southwest to the tripoint with Niger in the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burkina Faso–Mali border</span> International border

The Burkina Faso–Mali border is 1,325 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Ivory Coast in the west to the tripoint with Niger in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burkina Faso–Togo border</span> International border

The Burkina Faso–Togo border is 131 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Ghana in the west to the tripoint with Benin in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burkina Faso–Ghana border</span> International border

The Burkina Faso–Ghana border is 602 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Ivory Coast in the west to the tripoint with Togo in the east.