Bahrain News Agency | Four States file joint appeals with the International Court of Justice

13:46 – 07/07/2018

Amsterdam, July 7 (BNA): Today, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (the four states)) jointly appealed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the decisions of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) ) of June 29, 2018, following complaints lodged by the State of Qatar with ICAO.

The first appeal is filed jointly by the four states against the ICAO decision under the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. The second appeal is filed jointly by the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates under the Agreement on the Transit of International Air Services, to which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not party. The calls are for identical reasons.

The ICAO Council's decisions did not address the substance of Qatar's claims before ICAO and dealt only with the question of whether the ICAO Council had jurisdiction over hear these requests. The four states maintain that the ICAO Council does not have such jurisdiction since their dispute with Qatar relates to issues that have no connection with civil aviation or aviation safety . The conflict concerns fundamental commitments freely made by the Qatari government, in particular the commitment to stop supporting terrorist entities and individuals, to no longer interfere in the affairs of its neighbors and no longer to use its media networks controlled by the government.

Therefore, the four states do not agree with the decisions of the ICAO Council, which are incidentally procedural, and have asked the ICJ to annul them. The final decision on these issues will be taken by the ICJ. Pending the decision of the ICJ, the ICAO procedure is suspended.

The four states have appointed agents to represent them before the ICJ. The four agents are: HE Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa for the Kingdom of Bahrain, HE Amgad Abdel Ghaffar for the Arab Republic of Egypt, HE Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Abohaimed for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and HE Saeed Ali Yousef Alnowais for the United Arab Emirates

All four States reiterate their respect for ICAO and the ICAO Council and their continued commitment to ensuring the safety of air navigation within the framework of the ICAO. # 39; ICAO.

WHQ

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Last updated: 01: 46 PM – 07/07/2018