NAIROBI, 11 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Netherlands, began hearing a case on Monday brought by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), accusing its neighbour, Uganda, of invading its territory and committing human rights violations.

The DRC is seeking "compensation from Uganda in respect of all acts of looting, destruction, removal of property," the ICJ said in a statement on its website.

Uganda denies the accusations.

The ICJ only settles disputes between states when the states involved have agreed to the court's arbitration. The DRC and Uganda have accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the court.

The hearings are set to continue until 29 April.

The ICJ had heard disputes between the two countries previously starting in June 1999 when DRC accused Uganda of "acts of armed aggression".

In 2001, Uganda filed counterclaims of aggression by the DRC. During the following two years, the ICJ held hearings concerning the two countries.

In 2002, the DRC also filed a complaint with the ICJ against Rwanda for acts of aggression but the case was dismissed as Rwanda did not recognise the ICJ's jurisdiction.

[On the Net: Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda) http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ipresscom/ipress2004/ipresscom2004-36_co_20041206.htm ]