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The International Court of Justice,
Composed as above,
After deliberation,
Having regard to Articles 40 and 48 of the Statute of the Court and to
Articles 39, 40, 44 and 46 of the Rules of Court;
Whereas by a joint letter dated 12 May 2010 and filed in the Registry on 20
July 2010, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation of
Burkina Faso and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Co-operation, African
Integration and Nigeriens Abroad of the Republic of Niger notified to the
Registrar a Special Agreement between the two States, which was signed at
Niamey on 24 February 2009 and entered into force on 20 November 2009,
whereby the Governments of the two States have agreed to submit to the Court
the frontier dispute between them over a section of their shared boundary;
Whereas in Article 2 of the Special Agreement the Parties request the Court
to:
“1. determine the course of the boundary between the two countries in the
sector from the astronomic marker of Tong-Tong (latitude 14° 25' 04" N;
longitude 00° 12' 47" E) to the beginning of the Botou bend (latitude 12°
36' 18" N; longitude 01° 52' 07" E);
2. place on record the Parties’ agreement on the results of the work of the
Joint Technical Commission on Demarcation of the Burkina Faso-Niger boundary
with regard to the following sectors:
(a) the sector from the heights of N’Gouma to the astronomic marker of
Tong-Tong;
(b) the sector from the beginning of the Botou bend to the River Mekrou”;
Whereas by the above-mentioned joint letter the Government of Burkina Faso
informed the Court of the appointment of H.E. Mr. Zakalia Kote as Agent, of
Their Excellencies Messrs. Clément P. Sawadogo and Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo as
Co-Agents, and of Messrs. Dramane Ernest Diarra, Raymond Bruno Bamouni and
Vincent Zakane as Deputy Agents; and whereas by that same letter the
Government of Niger informed the Court of the appointment of H.E. Ms Aminata
Djibrilla Maïga Touré as Agent, of Their Excellencies Mr. Cissé Ousmane, Mr.
Abdoulaye Djibo and Brigadier-General Mamadou Ousseini as Co-Agents, and of
Mr. Sadé Elhadj Mahamane and H.E. Mr. Abdou Abarry as Deputy Agents;
Whereas in Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Special Agreement the Parties have
agreed that, without prejudice to any question as to the burden of proof,
the written pleadings should include:
“(a) a Memorial filed by each Party not later than nine (9) months after the
seising of the Court;
(b) a Counter-Memorial filed by each Party not later than nine (9) months
after exchange of the Memorials;
(c) any other written pleading whose filing, at the request of either of the
Parties, shall have been authorized or directed by the Court”,
Fixes the following time-limits for the filing of the initial written
pleadings in the case: 20 April 2011 for the filing of a Memorial by each
Party; 20 January 2012 for the filing of a Counter-Memorial by each Party;
and
Reserves the subsequent procedure for further decision.
Done in French and in English, the French text being authoritative, at the
Peace Palace, The Hague, this fourteenth day of September, two thousand and
ten, in three copies, one of which will be placed in the archives of the
Court and the others transmitted to the Government of Burkina Faso and the
Government of the Republic of Niger, respectively.
(Signed) Hisashi OWADA,
President.
(Signed) Philippe COUVREUR,
Registrar.
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