Hearings begin in Colombia-Nicaragua row

International tribunal: Will hear arguments on sovereignty of archipelago islands

The International Court of Justice begins hearing arguments Monday in a long-running dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua over a Caribbean archipelago and the maritime borders surrounding the islands, which some say hold massive deposits of oil.

The case has been going on for over a decade and in 2007 the Hague-based court ruled Colombia has sovereignty over the San Andres archipelago's three main islands -- San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina -- based on a 1928 treaty between Colombia and Nicaragua, Reuters reported.

The new hearings by the court, which will run for two weeks, are to settle ownership of other, smaller islands in the archipelago not covered in the 1928 treaty, and to also settle the nations' maritime borders in the area.

The islands are 140 miles east of Nicaragua and 480 miles north-west of Colombia.

Even…

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