The Republic of Equatorial Guinea has defended its sovereignty and rejected the preliminary objections by the French Republic and asked the International Court of Justice at The Hague to declare that it has the competence to rule on the request of Equatorial Guinea.
In 2016, the French court opened a suit alleging ill-gotten property against the Vice President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, for which he was sentenced last October to three years in prison and 30 million Euros in fines.
In doing so, France disrespected the diplomatic immunity of the Vice President and also the diplomatic status of the building that houses the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Paris, which France tried to seize in the case.
Equatorial Guinea has taken the case to The Hague to argue the Vice President’s immunity and France’s lack of compliance with international law.
France filed a preliminary objection with The Hague and asked the Court to declare themselves incompetent to rule on the legal process of the Paris Correctional Court.
Equatorial Guinea stressed that the case in France did not respect the country’s sovereignty, interfered in internal affairs, and wrongfully appropriated goods and rights for France.
The Hague is expected to make a decision on competency to review the case in the coming months.