Overview

• The International Court of Justice ruled that the 1974 Bata Convention invoked by Gabon is not legally binding and does not constitute a valid title to the islands.
• The court affirmed that sovereignty over the islands passed from Spain to Equatorial Guinea upon its independence in 1968, as outlined in the 1900 Paris treaty.
• The dispute involves three uninhabited islands—Mbanie, Cocotier, and Conga—located in potentially oil-rich waters in the Gulf of Guinea.
• Equatorial Guinea argued that Gabon had occupied the islands illegally since a 1972 military action and dismissed the Bata Convention as an unauthenticated and unreliable document.
• Both nations sought an amicable resolution through the ICJ to avoid escalating tensions, with the ruling providing a legal foundation for future resource rights and relations.