BANGKOK, 11 October 2013 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has decided to postpone its ruling on the ownership of the Phra Viharn temple until February next year.
According to Foreign Affairs Miniter Surapong Tovichakchaikul, the ICJ, generally known as the World Court, will not render its decision on the Phra Viharn case late this year as scheduled, adding that the hearing has been rescheduled for February next year as the court has been occupied with other cases.
In April this year, both Thailand and Cambodia presented their oral pleadings to the world court, trying to convince the ICJ of their sovereignty in the disputed area surrounding the Phra Viharn Temple.
Mr. Surapong said that Cambodia tried to convince the Court to accept its request for interpretation of the 1962 Judgment by arguing Thailand and Cambodia disagreed on the scope and meaning of the Judgment, in particular with regard to the Temple’s “vicinity” and the withdrawal of forces from Cambodia’s “territory.” Cambodia posited that it never accepted Thailand’s determination on the limit of the Temple’s vicinity or the barbed-wire fence set up according to the Thai Cabinet’s Resolution in 1962.
Cambodia underscored the status and significance of the “Annex I map” in the 1962 Judgment by claiming that the Court recognized and based its decision on the frontier line on that map.
Meanwhile, Thailand showed the Court that the 1962 Judgment was clear and that Thailand already implemented the obligations contained therein. It also countered with solid evidence against Cambodia’s claim that the Court had recognized the line in the “Annex I map” as boundary to determine the Temple’s vicinity, and maintained that Cambodia had never disputed the Thai Cabinet’s line in effect approximates the Temple’s vicinity.
