Libya_v_Chad
Libya–Chad Territorial Dispute case
Public international law case
The Case Concerning the Territorial Dispute (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Chad) [1994] is a public international law case decided by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning the border between the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Republic of Chad. The case was put forward to settle a territorial dispute between the two countries, particularly over a strip of land called the Aouzou Strip which Libya had occupied since the Chadian–Libyan War, and an area which Libya called the Libya–Chad Borderlands or simply the Borderlands.[1][2] Libya's claim of the Borderlands included parts of the regions of Borkou, Ennedi and Tibesti, including parts of the localities of Erdi, Kanem and Ounianga.[3][4] It also covered the Chadian region of B.E.T. minus northern Kanem.[1]
Libya argued that there was no existing boundary between itself and Chad and asked the court to define one. It also claimed that it had clear rights to territory north of a demarcated line which was on the 15th parallel north for much of its length. Libya called this area the Libya–Chad Borderlands; this was the disputed territory between Chad and Libya.[1] Chad on the other hand argued that there was an existing border and asked the court to define it.[5] It maintained that the Aouzou Strip was part of its territory.[2] Chad's territorial claim was based on the 1955 Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighborliness between France and Libya which would place the Aouzou Strip within the borders of Chad.[1]
The case was decided on 3 February 1994. The ICJ ruled in favor of Chad against Libya and declared Libya's occupation of the Aouzou Strip illegal.[5] The court recognised Chad's territorial claim and sovereignty over the Borderlands and Aouzou Strip.[6][7]