Manama: A Kuwaiti legal expert has called for setting up a Gulf Court of Justice to settle disputes between member states of the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) or between a GCC state and a non-GCC state.
"There is no legal objection to having an organisation or a group of organisations seeking to set up a Gulf Court of Justice to settle disputes between member states of the GCC or a GCC state and a non-GCC state if the latter agrees to its jurisdiction over it," Dr Faisal Al Enzi, head of the International Law Department in the College of Law at Kuwait University, said.
International law
"The idea that a GCC court of justice would run against the international law is totally incorrect. The setting of a GCC court of justice has nothing to do with the international law. If anything it totally tallies with the idea. We need to remember that one of the international law aims to settle disputes between conflicting states," he said.
However, he said that for an independent court that is not subject to any authority or influence to be set up properly, it will have to be supported by all GCC member states and to avail of the use of military force if need be to compel the member state to accept its verdict.
Gentlemen's agreement
"Of course, usually it is the gentlemen's agreement that prevails in such matters," he said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Watan on Monday.
According to Al Enzi, people would have the right to dispute matters against any of the GCC member states.
The expert expressed confidence in the success of the court.
"There is no doubt that the GCC countries have the right people and right qualifications to do exactly the job," he said. "There are people who can manage the court. After all, GCC legal experts have the knowledge and expertise to run the court and one can confidently say that it is only them who are fully knowledgeable of the legal nature of the GCC countries."
