& other stunning news of an african everyones land
http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/20030622news13.html
--- In
BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "acroorca2002"
<orc@o...> wrote:
> of 24 cases remaining before the international court of justice
> only 2 involve the adjudication of any land boundaries
> & of these only the benin niger case has any tripointing
> significance
> affecting as it may possibly both of their tripoints
> albeit in each case ever so slightly
>
> the tripoint positions per se are only incidental to the real issue
> which is the allocation to either country of the islands in the
niger
> & mekrou rivers
> which together comprise their entire border
>
> & this allocation hinges on whether the boundary is judged to
be
> the median line or the thalweg
>
> in relation to the ownership of each of the islands
> the decision will likely be for the winner to take all of it
> but in relation to the tripoints the decision will be very minor
> possibly involving only a few meters of difference either way
> & a difference perhaps more apparent than real anyway
> in view of the impermanence of thalwegs & medians generally
>
>
> a peculiar wrinkle in this case is that the nigeria tripoint or
> bjneng already legally falls at the median line of the niger
rather
> than at the thalweg
>
> & this will pose no problem if the court decides on the median
> line for bjne
>
> but if as seems much more likely the court goes with the
thalweg
> principle for ease of navigation as well as simplicity of
allocation
> assuming all other things are as equal as i believe they are
> then in addition to fixing the burkina faso tripoint or bfbjne for
the
> first time expressly on the thalweg rather than on the median
> it would also effectively displace the nigeria tripoint from its
> present position at the median to a new position on the
thalweg
>
> however whether the court has the power to displace an
> established tripoint even so short a distance as this
> & even when so inconsequential to the third party
> i have no sure idea but would rather doubt
>
>
> in any case
> the answers to these several fascinating but trivial questions
> not to mention the important question of who owns the islands
> will have to wait until at least next year
>
>
> sources
> icj case number 20
> & ibs study number 140 mainly
> but also 91 & 93
> & benin burkina niger & benin niger nigeria entries
> on african tripoints page