QATAR V. BAHRAIN) REPLY of the STATE of QATAR ______TABLE of CONTENTS PART I - INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I - GENERAL 1 Section 1
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CASE CONCERNING MARITIME DELIMITATION AND TERRITORIAL QUESTIONS BETWEEN QATAR AND BAHRAIN (QATAR V. BAHRAIN) REPLY OF THE STATE OF QATAR _____________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I - INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I - GENERAL 1 Section 1. Qatar's Case and Structure of Qatar's Reply Section 2. Deficiencies in Bahrain's Written Pleadings Section 3. Bahrain's Continuing Violations of the Status Quo PART II - THE GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND CHAPTER II - THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF QATAR Section 1. The Overall Geographical Context Section 2. The Emergence of the Al-Thani as a Political Force in Qatar Section 3. Relations between the Al-Thani and Nasir bin Mubarak Section 4. The 1913 and 1914 Conventions Section 5. The 1916 Treaty Section 6. Al-Thani Authority throughout the Peninsula of Qatar was consolidated long before the 1930s Section 7. The Map Evidence CHAPTER III - THE EXTENT OF THE TERRITORY OF BAHRAIN Section 1. Bahrain from 1783 to 1868 Section 2. Bahrain after 1868 PART III - THE HAWAR ISLANDS AND OTHER TERRITORIAL QUESTIONS CHAPTER IV - THE HAWAR ISLANDS Section 1. Introduction: The Territorial Integrity of Qatar and Qatar's Sovereignty over the Hawar Islands Section 2. Proximity and Qatar's Title to the Hawar Islands Section 3. The Extensive Map Evidence supporting Qatar's Sovereignty over the Hawar Islands Section 4. The Lack of Evidence for Bahrain's Claim to have exercised Sovereignty over the Hawar Islands from the 18th Century to the Present Day Section 5. The Bahrain and Qatar Oil Concession Negotiations between 1925 and 1939 and the Events Leading to the Reversal of British Recognition of Hawar as part of Qatar Section 6. Events leading up to and following the British Decision of 1939 on the Hawar Islands Section 7. The Bahraini Claim that the British Decision of 11 July 1939 resulted from a Process of Arbitration and is therefore res judicata Section 8. The Bahraini claim that Qatar acquiesced in the 1939 decision on the Hawar islands CHAPTER V - JANAN ISLAND Section 1. The Basis of Qatar's Title to Janan Island Section 2. Bahrain's Alleged Acts of Sovereignty over Janan Island CHAPTER VI - ZUBARAH Section 1. The Question of Zubarah Viewed in its Proper Perspective Section 2. The Basis of Qatar's Title to Zubarah Section 3. The Map Evidence Section 4. Bahrain's Claim to Sovereignty over Zubarah is Manifestly Ill-Founded Section 5. Bahrain's Claim to Zubarah was never recognised by the British; it was not supported in Bahrain itself; and it was repeatedly disclaimed by the Ruler of Bahrain PART IV - MARITIME DELIMITATION CHAPTER VII - BAHRAIN'S IMAGINARY VIEWS OF ITSELF Section 1. The Fantasy of Bahrain as a Maritime State whose Power, Influence and Geographical Extent stretches as far as the Shores and even the Mainland of Qatar Section 2. Bahrain's Misrepresentation of Qatar's Position CHAPTER VIII - THE FALSE ALLEGATIONS MADE BY BAHRAIN Section 1. Qatar's Alleged Misrepresentation of what is meant by the Bahraini Coast Section 2. The So-Called "Undue Weight" given to the 1947 Line CHAPTER IX - THE SINGLE MARITIME BOUNDARY Section 1. Bahrain's Line is a Distorted Equidistance Line Section 2. Qatar's Provisional Equidistance Line is Based on Reasonable Constructions Section 3. The Adjustments made by Qatar to its Provisional Equidistance Line SUBMISSIONS LIST OF DOCUMENTARY ANNEXES Volume 2 - Volume 3 - Volume 4 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 - Appendix 2 __________ CASE CONCERNING MARITIME DELIMITATION AND TERRITORIAL QUESTIONS BETWEEN QATAR AND BAHRAIN (QATAR V. BAHRAIN) REPLY OF THE STATE OF QATAR _____________________________________________ CHAPTER I - GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I - GENERAL 1 Section 1. Qatar's Case and Structure of Qatar's Reply 1 Section 2. Deficiencies in Bahrain's Written Pleadings 5 A. Bahrain's failure to join issue with Qatar 6 1. Bahrain's failure to respond to Qatar's arguments 6 2. Bahrain's arbitrary presentation of Qatar's position 7 (a) Qatar's supposed "claim that it became a sovereign State in 1868" 7 (b) Qatar's supposed claim that the Al-Thani were "masters of a unified Qatar peninsula by the mid-19th century" 8 (c) Qatar's alleged misuse of the name "Qatar" 9 (d) Qatar's supposed claim that "Bahrain" is a single island 10 B. Bahrain's exaggerated claims and assertions 12 C. Mis-citations and selective quotations in Bahrain's written pleadings 14 Section 3. Bahrain's Continuing Violations of the Status Quo 15 __________ PART I INTRODUCTION This Reply of the State of Qatar is filed pursuant to the Order of the Court dated 17 February 1999 which extended until 30 May 1999 the time-limit for the filing by each of the Parties of a Reply. CHAPTER I - GENERAL Section 1. Qatar's Case and Structure of Qatar's Reply 1.1 This Reply is divided into four Parts. Following this introductory Part I, Part II addresses "The Geographical and Historical Background", dealing in particular with the territorial integrity of Qatar (Chapter II) and the extent of the territory of Bahrain (Chapter III). Part III then addresses "The Hawar Islands and Other Territorial Questions". The Hawar islands are considered in Chapter IV, and in Chapters V and VI, Qatar addresses the questions of Janan island and Zubarah, respectively. The issue of maritime delimitation is dealt with in Part IV, and the Reply ends with Qatar's Submissions. Included at the end of this Volume are Appendices 1 and 2. Attached to this Reply there are three further Appendices in two separate volumes, together with a Map Atlas, and three volumes of Documentary Annexes. A list of these Appendices, Maps and Annexes may be found at the end of this Volume. In general, the Annexes are organised according to the Part of the Reply in which they are referred to. In other words Annexes to Part II of the Reply are numbered Annex II.1, II.2, etc. A list of certain documents which are being deposited separately with the Registry pursuant to Article 50, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Court is contained in the Agent of Qatar's letter to the Registrar dated 28 May 1999. 1.2 The Order of the Court dated 17 February 1999 placed on record the decision of Qatar to disregard, for the purposes of the present case, the 82 documents that had been challenged by Bahrain, and decided that the Replies would not rely on those documents. Qatar's decision had been announced by Qatar in its Interim Report of 30 September 1998, and was confirmed in Qatar's letter to the Court dated 1 February 1999. Qatar must once again reiterate here that its case on none of the issues before the Court is dependent on the documents that were challenged by Bahrain. 1.3 Consequently, there is no foundation for Bahrain's contention - which has been voiced by several Bahraini governmental authorities and widely reported in the press - that Qatar's decision no longer to rely on the 82 challenged documents has effectively put an end to Qatar's case on the Hawar islands and Janan, and that the only territorial issue still facing the Court is Bahrain's claim to Zubarah1. On the contrary, there is a wealth of both documentary and cartographic evidence from numerous sources to support Qatar's claims in respect of all the issues, including not only the maritime issues and Zubarah but also the Hawar islands and Janan. A great deal of that evidence has already been submitted by Qatar with its Memorial and Counter-Memorial, and further supporting evidence is provided with this Reply. 1.4 On the basis of that evidence, Qatar will show in Chapter II of this Reply that from the date of the 1868 Agreements, shortly followed by the Ottoman arrival in Qatar in 1871, the separate identities of Qatar and Bahrain were continuously recognised by Britain, Turkey, Persia and other countries. It will further demonstrate that historical, geographical and cartographical sources have consistently shown that the waterless Hawar islands and the island of Janan (both inhabited only seasonally, if at all), as well as Zubarah, were viewed as appertaining to Qatar not only as a geographical entity but also as a political entity, exercising authority over the whole peninsula and the immediately adjoining islands, under successive independent Rulers long before Qatar's emergence as a fully-fledged State. 1.5 Conversely, Qatar will show in Chapter III that there is no evidence of any historical dominance of Bahrain over Qatar. It will further be seen that at least after the 1868 Agreements, the political entity of Bahrain was considered as consisting of only the main Bahrain island and four other islands in its immediate vicinity, which did not include the Hawar islands, Janan or any territory on the mainland of Qatar. This again is confirmed by consistent and overwhelming documentary and cartographical evidence and was also, tellingly, the view expressed in 1928 by Belgrave himself, the Ruler of Bahrain's Adviser, at a time when he had become "so far as internal administration was concerned... to all intents and purposes the ruler of the State"2. Qatar will also demonstrate that since at least 1868, Bahrain has had no territorial rights in any part of the peninsula of Qatar, its territorial waters or the islands wholly or partly situated therein. 1.6 With regard to the actual issues that have been submitted to the Court, it will be seen in Part III that Qatar's case on each one of the territorial questions is further strengthened by additional documentary evidence from Turkish and other sources filed with this Reply.