Abstract
On May 19, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rendered judgment on the dispute between the Republic of Gabon and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (“the Parties”) concerning “whether the legal titles, treaties and international conventions invoked by the Parties have the force of law…in so far as they concern the delimitation of their common maritime and land boundaries and sovereignty over the islands of Mbanié/Mbañe, Cocotiers/Cocoteros and Conga.”1 The judgment makes significant advances in what defines a “treaty”, what follows from “legal title” in the law of territory, and how to apply the law of State succession. It also makes an important interpretation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea2 as a source of law for disputes concerning maritime entitlements. The evolutionary character of the judgment also prompted multiple opinions of individual judges concerning the “colonial” basis of the case.