Page 314 - The Arabian Gulf States_Neat

252 THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES
Einally, on 4 October 1963, Iraq officially recognised the inde­
pendence of Kuwait and confirmed Iraq’s adherence to the status of
the Iraqi-Kuwaiti boundaries, as described in the Exchange of Letters
dated 21 July and 10 August 1932, between the then Prime Minister
of Iraq and the Ruler of Kuwait, respectively. Later, on 12 October
1963, Kuwait and Iraq signed a financial agreement providing for the
payment by the former to the latter the sum of KD £30 million as a
loan to be re-paid, without interest, in nineteen instalments over
twenty-five years.1
Legal validity of the Iraqi claim
When on 2 July 1961 Kuwait brought her complaint against Iraq
before the Security Council, the Iraqi representative to the Council
objected to the acceptance of the Kuwaiti complaint in accordance
with Article 35(2) of the United Nations Charter.'- He argued that
since Kuwait was not a State, in the international sense of this mean­
ing, she could not, therefore, invoke the procedure envisaged in para­
graph 2 of this Article. Despite Iraqi objection, however, all the
members of the Security Council, with the exception of the Soviet
Union, voted in favour of the independent statehood of Kuwait.3 As
is shown in the above background, the Iraqi claim to Kuwait is based
on two issues, namely, (a) the historical connection of Kuwait with
the Ottoman Empire, and (b) the succession of the new State of Iraq
to the territorial sovereignty of that Empire over Kuwait.4 But in
order to establish this claim, it seems necessary to prove: (1) That
Kuwait was, legally, an integral part of the Ottoman Empire and was
administered as a district of the Wilayat of Basrah. (2) That Iraq had
succeeded to the Turkish territorial sovereignty, or suzerainty, over
Kuwait. (3) That Iraq had continued to maintain, effectively and with­
out disturbance, her sovereign claim to Kuwait. The merits or demerits
of the above propositions will now be analysed.

The original Ottoman historical title to Kuwait
The Kuwaiti Government’s argument against the alleged subjection of
Kuwait to the authority of the Ottoman Empire is that ‘Kuwait has
been governed, without direct Turkish interference, by the same
dynasty of Al-Sabah since 1756, and that the independent status of
Kuwait was maintained even after Midhat Pasha, the Wali (Governor)
of Baghdad, who led in 1871 an expedition into al-Hasa ... to subdue
the area . . .’5 What are the historical facts? On the basis of historical
1 MEES No. 49, 11 October and No. 50, 18 October 1963.
2 Y.U.N., 1961, pp. 168-9. Article 35(2) of the United Nations Charter refers
to a ‘State which is not a member of the United Nations’.
3 Tkjd 4 See above, p. 250. ... .
6 The Kuwaiti-Iraqi Crisis, op. cit., p. 4; Hewins, Ralph, A Golden Dream: Miracle
of Kuwait (1963), p. 91. Here Mr Hewins rightly states that ‘at no time the name