ICC commends former Attorney-General
The Ghana chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has congratulated its elite member, the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, for the role she played in ensuring that Ghana won the maritime boundary dispute with Cote d’Ivoire.
“ICC Ghana congratulates the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, partner at Lithur-Brew & Co and a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, for her role in resolving the Ghana–Cote d'Ivoire maritime boundary dispute,” ICC stated in its October 2017 newsletter.
Commendation
The ICC Ghana also commended both Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire on their commitment to abide by the ruling by the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
“Mrs Appiah-Opong was the Attorney-General and the head of Ghana's legal team when Ghana took the decision to take its maritime boundary dispute with Cote d'Ivoire to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the favourable outcome has saved the country billions of dollars in investment,” the newsletter noted.
ICC Ghana also commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Attorney-General, Ms Gloria Akuffo, for continuing from where Mrs Appiah-Opong's team left off, following the change in government.
Background
The Special Chamber on Saturday, September 23, 2017 ruled in favour of Ghana as far as the maritime boundary dispute between the two countries was concerned. The chamber ruled unanimously that Ghana did not violate the rights of Cote d'Ivoire in exploring oil at the maritime boundary.
After 10 failed negotiation attempts, Ghana, in September 2014, announced it had instituted arbitration proceedings at ITLOS to ensure the resolution of its maritime boundary dispute with Cote d’Ivoire.
In accordance with Article 3 (a) of Annex VII, Ghana appointed Judge Thomas Mensah, former President of ITLOS, as a member of the Tribunal.
The first round of preliminary hearing began in March 2015 where Cote d’Ivoire prayed the tribunal to stop all activities at the disputed area but Ghana led evidence to prove why activities at the disputed area could not be halted.
The tribunal, on April 25, 2015, refused to stop oil companies operating at the disputed area but it, however, stopped the drilling of new wells until the final determination of the case.