Bolivia president takes Chile coast case to court

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The president of Bolivia has delivered written legal arguments to the United Nations' highest court in his land-locked nation's bid to gain access to part of Chile's Pacific coast.

Evo Morales personally handed over the documents to the International Court of Justice on Tuesday — an unusual step at this early stage in the proceedings. The court will not reveal the contents of the documents until hearings in the case begin, which is unlikely to be before mid-2015.

Bolivia last year asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to order Chile to negotiate over Bolivia's claim to at least part of the 240-mile (400-kilometer) strip of Pacific Coast that it lost in a 19th century war. Chile argues the issue was long ago settled by a treaty.