BANGKOK, April 23 – Thailand’s ambassador to the Hague and Thailand’s agent Virachai Plasai, said details on the vicinity surrounding the Phra Viharn (Preah Vihear) temple will be submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday as requested.
He expressed appreciation to senior Cabinet members, high-ranking officials from the Foreign Ministry and related government agencies for supporting the Thai legal team in the oral hearings before the ICJ last week.
He said the oral statement which he wrote was re-checked, rewritten and adjusted by officials concerned, including the army.
It was jointly worked by all parties who contributed their opinions and feedback, he said.
He said there are four alternatives for the ICJ’s judgment: reject the request of Cambodia, rule in favour of Thailand, rule in favour of Cambodia and a neutral decision.
Alain Pellet, a member of the Thai legal team, would not say if it was a difficult case but would rather describe it as interesting.
James Crawford, another defence lawyer, said Thailand did its best in defending the case with explanations on history and details of the maps of which some Thai people were not aware.
Ms Alina Miron said she was assigned to handle the case in September last year and felt honoured to be part of the team as well as excited with the discovery of maps to better fight the case.
Details on vicinity surrounding the temple will be acknowledged by the Cabinet today before being submitted to the World Court on Friday, according to Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul.
