Dr Aymeric Chauprade is a well-known geopolitician, former MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
Recent High Court of Justice decision is another victory for the southern Moroccan provinces, writes Dr Aymeric Chauprade.
On 15 March, the New Zealand High Court of Justice issued its decision following legal action initiated last year by two members of the Polisario separatist movement.
Polisario’s target was the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF), a sovereign wealth fund which is a kind of pension fund and which has invested in recent years in fertiliser production activities using phosphate from the Moroccan Sahara.
More than 40 years ago, New Zealand – a great agricultural power – developed a commercial relationship with Morocco, known worldwide for its production of phosphate-based fertilisers.
Polisario has been trying for years to damage Morocco’s trade relations with other countries. Many attempts have been made in Europe and, for example, Polisario relies on some very left-wing political forces in the European Parliament.
However, whenever the EU-Morocco trade relationship has been endangered by Polisario’s legal manoeuvres, reason has always prevailed.
The New Zealand ruling is therefore interesting for several reasons.
In its decision, the High Court of Auckland first asserts that Polisario does not have a recognised legal status that would allow it to sue in court and therefore it responds to the request of a private person, namely a Mr Kamal Fadel. This is an important point that underlines yet again the fragility or even absence of any legal status of the Polisario movement.
“whenever the EU-Morocco trade relationship has been endangered by Polisario’s legal manoeuvres, reason has always prevailed”
Secondly, the High Court affirms that the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara is of a geopolitical nature and does not fall within its competence. The High Court is indeed a national judicial institution of New Zealand, which does not have the role of deciding, under international law, on the status of a territory.
The High Court also affirmed that the Sovereign Wealth Fund’s investments meet the legal and ethical requirements of ‘responsible investment’ imposed by both New Zealand law and the United Nations.
