Page Seven / La Paz
Roberto Calzadilla, Bolivian agent before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), stressed that the Chilean defense recognized that Bolivia has rights over the Silala canals and drainage system.
“In its intervention, Chile accepted that Bolivia has the right to the hydraulic works and drainage systems of the Silala waters and to decide on their conservation. With this intervention, the first stage of the public hearings was closed,” said Calzadilla, who also serves as Bolivia’s ambassador to the Netherlands.
Bolivia’s “A” counterclaim focuses on asking the Court to declare that it has sovereignty over the artificial canals and drainage facilities that are in its territory, and that it has the right to decide if and how they should be maintained.
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Chilean lawyer Laurence Boisson Des Chazournes stated yesterday that “Chile does not dispute Bolivia’s sovereignty over the canals in its territory or its right to dismantle them.”
Bolivia filed the counterclaim before the Court of The Hague in 2018, when it also presented the countermeasure in the case opened by Chile before that court. Santiago sued Bolivia in June 2016.
After Chile’s presentation, his agent Ximena Fuentes stated that Santiago’s position was presented in a clear and professional manner. “Very satisfied with the speeches that Chile presented today in the Silala case. The defense of our country to the Bolivian counterclaim was exposed in a clear and professional manner,” she tweeted.
