The nation of Vanuatu on Monday filed an application with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against France, requesting that the court affirm its sovereignty over disputed islands in the South Pacific region and establish new boundaries between Vanuatu and the French territory of New Caledonia.
Vanuatu is a cluster of roughly 80 islands with 300,000 residents, located about 300 miles northeast of New Caledonia. It was ruled jointly by Britain and France prior to its independence in 1980. The instant dispute centers on two small, uninhabited volcanic landmasses which anchor an aquatic economic zone providing rights to fishing and seabed minerals. France claimed sovereignty over the landmasses in 1975 and has since overseen their operation as part of New Caledonia.
On Monday, Vanuatu invoked Article 38 of the ICJ Rules of Court, which applies a forum prorogatum provision permitting a state to file suit against another state who has not expressly accepted the court’s jurisdiction. ICJ in a statement on Tuesday noted that no action will be taken “unless and until France” consents to jurisdiction in the matter. Under Article 36(2) of the Statute of the ICJ, a state may agree in advance to be sued at the court by any other similarly declared state; however, France terminated its declaration in 1974 following adverse holdings in the Nuclear Tests cases. France has provided ad hoc declarations in 2003 and 2006, but it is uncertain if they will provide consent in this current dispute.
If the matter is able to proceed under ICJ jurisdiction, it will be argued under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which both states are parties to. UNCLOS Article 121(3) states that “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” This presents a challenge to any claim for control over the economic zones associated with the uninhabited landmasses in dispute.
Monday’s filing follows a lapse in previous negotiations. Last July, both states expressed interest in reaching an amicable and pragmatic solution over the disputed region. France has not publicly responded to Monday’s ICJ filing.
