United Nations court to hear Bolivia’s sea claim

Chile had asked the court, also known as the World Court, for a preliminary ruling that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case because of the 1904 Peace Treaty that fixed its border with Bolivia.

People took to the streets of La Paz in celebration of the ICJ’s decision, with many chanting “Ocean for Bolivia”. Responding to the ruling, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Bolivia had not actually won anything, and that the ruling “does not affect the territorial integrity of Chile”.

Bolivians gathered outside the court cheered the finding, and a beaming President Evo Morales said he was “enormously satisfied” with the result.

Bolivia asked the global Court of Justice in 2013 to order Chile to negotiate over Bolivia’s claim to at least part of the 240-mile (400-kilometer) strip of Pacific Coast.

The court at The Hague rejected Chiles appeal that questioned the courts jurisdiction to hear the case.

The decision does not mean that Bolivia will win its case.

Bolivia – South America’s poorest country – became landlocked after losing a four-year war against Chile at the end of the 19th century, forfeiting territory and its access to the sea.

“We are a peaceful country, and I would like to…call on the government of Chile to accompany this process through dialogue”, Morales said, according to AFP news agency.

Bolivia says it will boost its natural gas and mineral exports with sovereign access to the ocean, though it already has low-priced access to the sea through Chilean ports. The court reached its decision by relying on the Pact of Bogotá [text], in which Bolivia and Chile both agreed that the ICJ will have jurisdiction over matters regarding breach of an global obligation between American states. “It confuses rights with aspirations, and completely distorts the history between Chile and Bolivia”.

The global Court of Justice is the United Nations’ court for resolving disputes between countries.

The ruling comes after decades of diplomatic to-ing and fro-ing between prosperous Chile and its relatively impoverished neighbour.