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Pedra Branca
Located some 24 nautical miles to the east of Singapore, Pedra Branca commands the entire eastern approach to the Straits of Singapore, through which almost 900 ships pass daily.
Pedra Branca meaning "White Rock" in Portuguese, was named as such in 16th Century Portuguese maps, and is also being called "Pulau Batu Puteh" by Malaysians.
Sitting at the eastern entrance of the Straits of Singapore, it houses the Horsburgh Lighthouse, the oldest feature on the island which was built by the British between 1847 and 1851. The island also comprises Middle Rocks which are two clusters of rocks situated 0.6 nautical miles south of Pedra Branca, and South Ledge, a rock formation which can be seen only at low-tide, that sits 2.1 nautical miles to the south.
The Dispute
In 1979, Malaysia published a map claiming the island. In response, Singapore lodged a formal protest with Malaysia in early 1980.
As the issue has been a sore point in bilateral relations, both Singapore and Malaysia decided to put the dispute before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. This suggestion was first made by Singapore in 1989 and agreed to in 1994 by Malaysia . The two countries then agreed in 1998 on a Special Agreement that was needed to submit the dispute to the ICJ. The Special Agreement was signed in February 2003 before the ICJ was formally notified in July.
The Case
Singapore and Malaysia have asked the International Court of Justice to decide on who has sovereignty over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
It is Singapore's case that sovereignty over Middle Rocks and South Ledge should also belong to the country that has sovereignty over Pedra Branca.
Between 2004 and 2005, both Singapore and Malaysia submitted to the ICJ, written documents on their case for sovereignty.
The ICJ decided in May 2006 that the next stage should be held, with arguments and public hearings at the ICJ in the Hague. This took place for the most part of November 2007.
After the close of the public hearings, the ICJ conducted internal deliberations on the case before delivering a decision made by majority vote.
The judgment is final and without appeal.
The Teams
Singapore's delegation to the Hague had comprised Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and former Minister for Law, Professor S. Jayakumar, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin, and Ambassador-at-Large Professor Tommy Koh, who is also serving as the Agent of Singapore for this case. Also part of the Singapore delegation were an experienced team of international legal Counsel, namely, Mr Ian Brownlie Q.C., Professor Alain Pellet, Mr Rodman Bundy and Ms Loretta Malintoppi.
Malaysia's delegation was headed by Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad, who is Ambassador at Large, and also the Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs. He is also Malaysia's agent for the case while Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin, the Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands, acted as co-agent. The Malaysian legal team included Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail,along with Sir Elihu Lauterpacht and James Crawford, professors in International Law at the Cambridge University; Nicolaas Jan Schrijver, professor of Public International Law, Leiden University; Marcelo G. Kohen, professor of International Law, the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva; and Penelope Nevill, college lecturer,Downing College, Cambridge University.
The judges for the International Court of Justice were Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar), Shi Jiuyong (China),Abdul G. Koroma (Sierra Leone), Gonzalo Parra Aranguren (Venezuela), Thomas Buergenthal (US), Hisashi Owada (Japan), Bruno Simma (Germany), Peter Tomka(Slovakia), Ronny Abraham (France), Kenneth Keith (New Zealand), Bernardo Sepulveda Amor (Mexico), Mohamed Bennouna (Morocco) and Leonid Skotnikov(Russia).
CNA/sf
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