International Court reviews Honduras-Nicaragua dispute

International Court reviews Honduras-Nicaragua dispute The International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands has started a review of a long-simmering dispute over territorial waters between Honduras and Nicaragua.
   The United Nations-sanctioned court, sometimes referred to as the World Court, will decide on which country has authority in overlapping waters off their common border — where lucrative fishing rights and potential oil and gas reserves are at stake.
   The issue has even led to military posturing on the part of each country, most recently when new Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said his country needs to hold onto Soviet-era anti-aircraft guns and some 1,000 Soviet surface-to-air missiles in the event of an attack by Honduras, which recently received sophisticated new aircraft from the United States to help detect drug smuggling operations.
   While the case has raised tensions between Nicaragua and Honduras, the countries have reached an agreement to settle the issue within the international court system, which has the authority to issue binding rulings that cannot be appealed.
   According to a Reuters report, Nicaragua filed the complaint in the world court because it believes its maritime border extends to 17 degrees north latitude, which is actually north of not only Nicaragua, but its northern neighbor Honduras. The 17th parallel runs through Belize, Guatemala, and southern Mexico through the port city of Acapulco.
   Honduras, on the other hand, said the maritime border is 15 degrees north latitude, close to the land border between the countries.