Loading ...Bolivia is hailing an important diplomatic victory in a dispute over access to the Pacific Ocean which has raged for more than a century with its neighbour Chile.
The Bolivian government is lobbying for a strip of land six miles wide which would run the 100-mile length of the existing Chile/Peru border.
The International Court of Justice at the Hague on Thursday declared that it has the jurisdiction to rule on Bolivia’s claim, overriding Chilean protests.
Bolivian President Evo Morales declared: “This is a historic day which will be remembered by all Bolivians: the court’s decision is an important step in our claim to return to the Pacific ocean.”
The court rejected by 14-2 Chile’s objection that it had no jurisdiction over the dispute, as the existing borders had already been agreed by a peace treaty with Bolivia in 1904-5.