THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Court of Justice has opened public hearings in two longstanding border disputes between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Tuesday's opening session at the court in The Hague, Netherlands, heard Costa Rica's claim that Nicaraguan canal-cleaning works carried out in the border area were an attempt to claim territory.
Presiding Judge Ronny Abraham of France, center, accompanied by Vice President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia, left, and judge Hisashi Owada of Japan, opens the session of the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 14, 2015, where Nicaragua and Costa Rica are trying to settle a double dispute over the San Juan River, which makes up the border between the two countries. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Costa Rican ambassador Edgar Ugalde Alvarez said that "the work was undertaken with precise intention of transforming and amputating the part of Costa Rican territory."
Nicaraguan ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez said that "Nicaragua considers that that territory belongs to Nicaragua."
He added, "if the territory is Nicaraguan, then it's nothing more to discuss here."
The hearing is expected to last until April 24.
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