Peru vs. Chile – The ICJ Awaits

There is nothing like an old-fashioned territorial dispute to get an international lawyer’s heart pumping. The next big ICJ case will likely be brought by Peru against Chile over the little triangle of “area en controversia” on this map. Indeed, just publishing the map has led to diplomatic fireworks. Chile has recalled its ambassador to Peru for “consultations” and Chilean government officials have cancelled visits to Peru.



Peru has been talking about bringing this case to the ICJ for quite a while (See our report on this back in April) and some reports have suggested that Peru has already filed an application with the ICJ. But there is nothing on the ICJ’s website (it is August after all) yet. Perhaps the publication of this map is the last effort to provoke a settlement?