Anti-terror Quartet Jointly File Appeals With International Court Of Justice Over Qatari Allegations

(@FahadShabbir)

Anti-terror quartet jointly file appeals with International Court of Justice over Qatari allegations

The anti-terror quartet of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, jointly filed appeals today with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in respect of the decisions of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued last week, following claims lodged by the State of Qatar with ICAO.

(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 07th Jul, 2018) AMSTERDAM, 7th July 2018 (WAM) - The anti-terror quartet of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, jointly filed appeals today with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in respect of the decisions of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued last week, following claims lodged by the State of Qatar with ICAO.

Bahrain news Agency (BNA) quoted Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Non-resident Ambassador to the Netherlands, as saying that the Four States agree that ICAO does not have the jurisdiction to look into such claims, since the dispute is unrelated to civil aviation or the civil aviation safety.

"The decisions of the ICAO Council did not concern the substance of Qatar’s claims before ICAO and only address the question of whether the ICAO Council has competence to hear these claims.

The Four States maintain that the ICAO Council does not have such competence, since their dispute with Qatar concerns issues that are entirely unrelated to civil aviation or aviation safety. The dispute concerns fundamental commitments freely assumed by the Qatari government, in particular commitments to cease supporting terrorist entities and individuals, to stop interfering in the affairs of its neighbors, and to no longer use its government-controlled media networks to propagate hate speech," he said.

Accordingly, he continued, the Four States disagree with the decisions of the ICAO Council, which are, moreover, procedurally irregular, and have asked the ICJ to set them aside. The final decision on these matters will be made by the ICJ. Pending the ICJ’s decision, the ICAO proceedings are suspended.