ITLOS Ruling: Decision Cannot Be Appealed—Lawyer
A legal practitioner, Lawyer Akwasi Appiah Twumasi Ankrah, says neither Cote d’ Ivoire nor Ghana can ask a higher court to reverse the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ruling in the maritime dispute between the two countries.
According to him, none of the parties have the right to appeal the court’s decision in any higher court.
“Even though there are courts of appeal, the decisions of the Tribunal are final. However, the Rules of the Tribunal make provision regarding requests for the interpretation or revision of a judgment by the International Tribunal for the law of the sea,” he stated.
On Saturday, September 23, 2017 Ghana emerged victorious in a maritime dispute against Cote d’ Ivoire in a landmark ruling of the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the law of the sea (ITLOS) in Germany.
Speaking in an interview with Otec Fm, Lawyer Akwasi Appiah Twumasi Ankrah claims the judgment presents a win-win for both parties.
According to him, no one lost the case because both Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire presented cases and won part of them.
”Ghana presented a case and they accepted some part and rejected the other part same as Cote d’ Ivoire who presented a case, won part and the rest rejected,” he explained
According to him, people are saying Ghana won the case against Cote d’ Ivoire because the Tribunal quashed the compensation Cote d’ Ivoire was demanding from Ghana and that is the only difference between the two parties as far as the ruling is concerned,” he said.
Ghana was first to initiate proceedings at the Tribunal in September 2014 after Ivory Coast accused it of violating its sovereign right.
The case was filed after efforts to negotiate a settlement with Cote d’Ivoire were unproductive.
Lawyer Twumasi Ankrah also advised Ghanaians to learn from the (ITLOS) ruling and respect court decisions.
He said that Ghana’s 1992 constitution gives everybody the right of appeal, if one is dissatisfied with a decision of a court.
”In Ghana, even if the Supreme Court passes a judgement and you are not satisfied, you can proceed to review and the verdict could change, but respecting a court’s ruling promotes a Nation,” he advised.
Agents who represented Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire in the maritime boundary dispute case, Gloria Akuffo and Adama Toungara, say they accept the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea’s (ITLOS) judgement on the case.
This was contained in a joint statement released hours after the Chamber’s judgement.
The statement, which was signed by the two agents also saw the two countries reiterate their mutual commitment to abide by the terms of the judgement.
The two countries also “affirmed their strong will to work together to strengthen and intensify their brotherly relationships of cooperation and good neighbourliness.”
“On the joint behalf of the Presidents and the Peoples of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire and the Republic of Ghana, I would like to express our gratitude to the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for the courteous attention with which the proceedings were conducted,” the statement added.