UN Justice Court Settles Dispute Between Bolivia, Chile Over Status Of Silala River

 The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) has delivered its judgment in the case concerning the dispute between Bolivia and Chile over the status and use of the waters of the Silala river and ordered that the body of water was international and subject to the regulations of the international law.

The proceeding started in 2016 when Chile filed a lawsuit to The Hague demanding that the court establish the nature of the Silala river as an international watercourse and of Chile's rights as a riparian state after former Bolivian President Evo Morales accused Chile of illegally exploiting the river's waters without compensating Bolivia.

"The Court notes in this regard that the experts appointed by each Party agree that the waters of the Silala, whether surface or groundwater, constitute a whole flowing from Bolivia into Chile and into a common terminus.

There is no doubt that the Silala is an international watercourse and, as such, subject in its entirety to customary international law, as both Parties now agree," the judgment read.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font and Bolivian President Luis Arce have confirmed on Twitter that they were satisfied with the judgment.