The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favor of Qatar in its dispute with several countries of the region in relation to the air blockade imposed against the country in 2017 as a result of a diplomatic dispute that has not yet been resolved.

The ICJ has indicated in its final judgement to which there is no appeal that it rejects appeals from Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in relation to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Qatar’s sovereignty over the airspace.

It has also determined – with 15 votes in favor and one against – that the ICAO Council “has jurisdiction to consider the request submitted by Qatar on October 30, 2017 and that said request is admissible” in an accolade to Doha’s position in the dispute.

In response to the verdict, the Minister of Transport and Communications H.E. Jasim Saif Ahmed al Sulaiti has applauded the decision and stressed that “it will make the countries that carry out the blockade face justice for violating international aviation standards”.

“We trust that ICAO will finally determine that these actions are illegal” he said before adding that “this is the latest in a series of rulings that demonstrate the continued disregard for international law and due process by countries that carry out the blockade”.

In this matter, Al Sulaiti has indicated that “step by step, the arguments are being dismantled and the position of Qatar is being justified” according to a statement issued by the Communications office of the Qatar Government on its website.

The governments of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE announced in June 2017 the severance of their diplomatic relations with Qatar accusing it of “supporting terrorism”, accusations that have been rejected at all times by Doha.

Relations had deteriorated in the previous months, including an accusation by Qatar against Saudi Arabia and its allies over a cyber-attack on its state agency to publish false statements of the Emir criticizing Gulf countries.