ICJ'S temple hearing approaches

April 1, 2013
KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN
The Nation
THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS

A newly renovated main courtroom in The Hague's Peace Palace awaits the Thai and Cambodian delegations when they begin their final four-day oral presentations in the Preah Vihear Temple dispute on April 15.

It's the first time in ages the International Court of Justice room has received any major renovation with a complete change of all furniture, audio-visual components and colouring style. Over the past several months, the room had been sealed for refurbishing. It was not until last week all the work was completed. This time around the room is alive with additional white and black colours replacing some of the mundane chocolate shade that used to dominate the court's ambience. It is now also equipped with state-of-the art gadgets.

The two teams of lawyers will be seated to face the 15-member panel of judges, who will sit in prominent soft white leather chairs replacing the previous walnut coloured ones. Six high-resolution cameras have been installed and placed strategically to capture all angles, especially head shots of each speaker within the room.

In front of each judge, there's a 24-inch panel computer monitor screen to follow up the presentations. Up above the seating, two giant 5x7 metre flat screens stand next to each other for slide displays. One-metre high letters, made of stainless steel, spell out "International Court of Justice" along with the French translation and are embedded in front of the long rostrum to ensure the global audience for the live broadcasts immediately recognises the place. Welcome to the new ICJ.

The wrap-up oral presentations in The Hague have been a main focus for the Yingluck government since it came to power in August 2011. As the date draws near, there have been some panic attacks at the top, judging from the manner this government and related agencies have responded to the upcoming ICJ drama.

Minister of Education Pongthep Thepkanjana has been assigned to head the team to assist Minister of Foreign Affairs Surapong Towichukchaikul. Yingluck believes that Pongthep, with his judicial background as a constitutional expert, would be helpful to Surapong. The stakes for the government are extremely high because all along it has been highlighting the close relations between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Yingluck's brother, Thaksin, and their contribution to easing the tension along the border over the past 21 months.

Deep down, despite the current calm, the Pheu Thai Party's leaders have expressed fear there could be unpredictable incidents ahead of the hearing along the volatile Thai-Cambodian border. For whatever reason, any renewed exchange of artillery shells across the border would impact the overall atmosphere of bilateral relations and the hearing. During the recent meeting between the two defence ministers, Cambodia's Tea Banh and Thailand's General Sukampol Suwannathat, at Preah Vihear Temple, there was agreement that if there was any change in the status quo at the border - especially in the placement of security forces - both were obliged to inform each other through hotlines without delay.

In the past three months, numerous meetings were convened and some chaired personally by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Dozens of seminars and conferences were held by concerned pressure groups, politicians and academics to explain the case of Preah Vihear Temple. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs also produced a series of pamphlets, advertisements, comics and TV documentaries. The most notable was the handbook, "50 Years, 50 Points - Q&A on Preah Vihear", which explains the dispute in the most comprehensive manner touching on the complete case pending at the ICJ.

The urgency was prompted by a recent survey by ABAC Poll which found that 82.5 per cent of Thai people lamented that the government failed to give sufficient and precise information on the controversies surrounding the Hindu temple. Several nationalist groups are at the forefront urging the Thai government not to accept any ruling by the ICJ.

Due to growing interest in the case and its unpredictable outcome, more than 100 Thais have expressed interest in attending the hearing, despite the live telecast from The Hague. The small staff at the Thai Embassy had to work overtime answering questions and making preparations for at least 50 visiting Thai officials comprising senators, politicians, scholars and two dozen Thai journalists.

Inside the court, there are only two blocks of seating, each with 112 seats. The right side always belongs to the applicants. In this case, all the Cambodian delegates will be seated there. On the left hand side, where the Thai delegation would be seated, the first 12 white chairs will be reserved for official representatives, the rest for Thais who applied earlier to attend the meeting. Journalists are not allowed inside the court. They will be watching and covering proceedings from an adjoining room.

The United Nations' Web TV Channel has agreed to broadcast live the four-day proceedings. For the Thai audience, the Thai government will provide a simultaneous translation throughout the hearing. Over four days, each side will have a total of six and half hours to state their case. The Thai delegation submitted a total of 597 pages with 233 pages of text and 364 pages of annexes comprising maps and illustrations. In the May 2011 hearing, there were 758 pages, comprising 307 pages of text and 451 with maps and illustrations. Cambodia has only 300 plus pages of submission. Altogether, the Thai dossier has 1,355 pages stating its position. The ruling is expected later this year.

In its 100-year history, the ICJ has deliberated 152 cases and handed down 112 rulings. In only 27 cases have the conflicting parties refused to accept the court's rulings. Most countries that seek ICJ assistance follow its judgements. It remains to be seen how the Preah Vihear Temple case will turn out, and the reaction thereafter by the conflicting parties.