The United Kingdom (UK) is threatening to drag Botswana before the International Court of Justice. The International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It settles disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues The UK government claim that Botswana diplomats are among a “stubborn minority” that refuse to pay traffic charges running into millions of Pula. It has since emerged that the High Commission for Botswana in London is failing to pay more than P16 million (£954,120) in traffic congestion charges.
The Transport for London which is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in the United Kingdom has set the ball rolling to drag Botswana before the internal court as it warned that; “We and the UK Government are clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a tax.” According to the organisation; “This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it. The majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels.” It further warned that: “We will continue to pursue all unpaid Congestion Charge fees and related penalty charge notices and are pushing for the matter to be taken up at the International Court of Justice.”
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