ISSUE 209

AMSTERDAM , Netherlands , January 10, 2006 (AP) – Djibouti has asked the International Court of Justice to arbitrate in a diplomatic dispute with France , the court said in a statement Tuesday.

France has the right to reject the U.N. court's involvement, but the statement quoted officials of the east African country as saying they were "confident that the French Republic will agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the court."

The International Court of Justice, also known as the world court, is the U.N.'s venue for resolving disputes between states.

The disagreement stems from the 1995 killing of a French judge in Djibouti , which was deemed a suicide at the time by a French-led investigation. But the case was never closed and later studies found it was more likely a murder.

Djibouti 's government is protesting a French court's attempts to summon witnesses who should have diplomatic immunity. These include President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Djibouti 's first elected head of state.

Djibouti expelled six French aid workers over the matter in January 2005.

Djibouti , located between Somalia and Eritrea , has been independent from France since 1977 and generally has good relations with its former colonial ruler. It is the home of the only U.S. military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is considered an important ally of developed countries in combating terrorism.