Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 3 August (HL7037), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what has been the total cost to the public purse of the UK’s participation in recent proceedings before the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.

These advisory proceedings in the International Court of Justice concerned a request for an advisory opinion from the United Nations General Assembly. All Member States of the United Nations were invited to participate in the proceedings. Thirty-one States and the African Union filed written statements, and ten States and the African Union filed written comments on the written statements. Twenty-two States and the African Union participated in the oral proceedings.

The UK participated at all stages of the proceedings. From the accessible records held by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the legal costs of the UK's participation were £309,608.20. This figure comprises Counsels' fees and Government Legal Department fees.