Bahrain/Qatar – the longest case ever to come before
the ICJ
The Bahrain/Qatar case was perhaps the longest and one
of the most complicated to have come before the
International Court of Justice. It was referred to the ICJ
in 1991 by Qatar, with Bahrain originally contesting the
court’s jurisdiction. Previous attempts to reach a solution
through the mediation efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia had failed.
The court was asked to decide both on sovereignty and
maritime delimitation issues. In its submission, the
government of Qatar asked the court to adjudge that:
• Qatar had sovereignty over a small group of islands
(the Hawar islands), which were closer to Qatar, but over
which Bahrain had a historical claim;
• That Dibal and Qit'at Jaradah shoals were low-tide
elevations under Qatar's sovereignty
• That Bahrain had no sovereignty over the island of
Janan
• That Bahrain had no sovereignty over Zubarah
• That any claim by Bahrain concerning archipelagic
baselines and areas for fishing for pearls and swimming
fish would be irrelevant for the purpose of maritime
delimitation.
Qatar also asked the Court to draw a single maritime
boundary “between the maritime areas of sea-bed, subsoil,
and superjacent waters appertaining respectively to the
State of Qatar and the State of Bahrain” on the basis that
the Hawar islands and the island of Janan belonged to
Qatar.
For its part, Bahrain asked the Court to adjudge and
declare that: Bahrain was sovereign over Zubarah, the Hawar
Islands, including Janan and Hadd Janan, and that in view
of the state’s sovereignty over all insular and other
features the maritime boundary was to be should be
delimited accordingly.
In arriving at its conclusion the court was obliged to
take into account a host of complicating factors related to
historical claims to the territory by various sheikdoms and
dynasties, the relevance of historical pearling rights, and
agreements with colonial powers, notably the Ottomans and
the British. With regard maritime delimitation issues, the
case set a precedent to the extent that the court drew an
equidistance line between the relevant baselines,
emphasizing the relevance of equidistance over equitable
principles. The sovereignty of the island of Hawar, one of
the most contentious elements in the case, was decided on
the basis of a decision made in 1939 by the British power
in the region, which the court interpreted as being
tantamount or equivalent to, and arbitral award.