The Hague, August 1 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Mediators from Nicaragua and Colombia must meet to try to solve a long dispute over a territory in the Caribbean sea, the International Court of Justice, the ICJ, has announced.

The ICJ will chair public hearings between both countries, at its home in The Hague, over three days in October, the organization said in a statement on Friday. Other hearings over the supposed violation of Colombia to the sovereign rights and Caribbean maritime space of Nicaragua will begin September 28th.

In 2012 a court in The Hague ruled a group of small islands - San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina - belonged to Colombia, but expanded maritime limits in Nicaragua’s favor.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos flatly rejects the current ruling.

The disputed archipelago, which lies some 480,5 miles from the Colombian coast and 142,6 miles from Nicaragua, is rich in fishing and oil exploration opportunities.

The Nicaraguan government has confirmed the potential with extensive experiments.

In 2012 Colombian environmentalists urged the United Nations to prevent hydrocarbon exploitation in the area in order to preserve the marine ecosystem.