A spokesman for the Minister for Foreign Affairs rejected the suggestion that the minister had been hyprcritical , and said that it had always been government policy to resolve such disputes via bilateral negotiation. Mr Lee was referring to Australia's redeclaration of its recognition of the court. On March 22, 2002, Australia deposited a new declaration with the ICJ, which stated that its recognition of the Court did not apply to "any dispute concerning or relating to the delimitation of maritime zones, including the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, or arising out of, concerning, or relating to the exploitation of any disputed area of or adjacent to any such maritime zone pending its delimitation." This was widely understood at the time to be the result of Australia's dispute with East Timor over the maritime border. The declaration was signed by Mr Downer, who co-sponsored todays media release. The issue is especially important to both countries as the Timor Sea holds significant oil reserves. Mr Lee argued that Australia was unfairly using its stronger bargaining position in negotions , and deliberately avoiding submitting to a decision by the court. Tom Clarke, Co-ordinator of the Timor Sea Justice Campaign, argues that the governments stance in relation to the ICJ is hypocritical.
A spokesman for the Minister for Foreign Affairs rejected the suggestion that the minister had been hypocritical , and said that it had always been government policy to resolve such disputes via bilateral negotiation. Mr Lee was referring to Australia's redeclaration of its recognition of the court. On March 22, 2002, Australia deposited a new declaration with the ICJ, which stated that its recognition of the Court did not apply to "any dispute concerning or relating to the delimitation of maritime zones, including the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, or arising out of, concerning, or relating to the exploitation of any disputed area of or adjacent to any such maritime zone pending its delimitation." This was widely understood at the time to be the result of Australia's dispute with East Timor over the maritime border. The declaration was signed by Mr Downer, who co-sponsored today's media release. The issue is especially important to both countries as the Timor Sea holds significant oil reserves. Mr Lee argued that Australia was unfairly using its stronger bargaining position in negotiatons , and deliberately avoiding submitting to a decision by the court. Tom Clarke, Coordinator of the Timor Sea Justice Campaign, argues that the governments stance in relation to the ICJ is hypocritical.
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