The United Nation's International Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that it will continue to hear out a dispute between Bolivia and Chile over a coastline.

In 2013, Bolivia asked the ICJ to order Chile to negotiate over their requests for access to the Pacific Ocean. Bolivia lost access to the ocean after the War of the Pacific, which ran from 1879 to 1883.

According to Reuters, Judge Ronny Abraham, who presided over the world court's hearing, read the decision: “The matters in the dispute are not matters already settled by arrangements between the parties ... or governed by treaties in force."

The BBC reports that Bolivian President Evo Morales said it was "a day Bolivians would never forget."

Chile’s assertion that the case did not fall under the jurisdiction of the ICJ was dismissed by the court, which means the case will continue to be heard in The Hague. Responding to the ruling, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Bolivia had not actually won anything, and that the ruling “does not affect the territorial integrity of Chile."

Chile maintains that a 1904 peace treaty, called the “Treaty of Peace and Friendship,” settled the border. The treaty left Bolivia bereft of a coast and landlocked.

Bolivia says that high-ranking Chilean officials have, on at least six occasions, promised to restart negotiations over Bolivia's access to the Pacific Ocean.

Eduardo Rodriguez, the attorney representing Bolivia's case before the ICJ, was enthused over Thursday's ruling and went so far as to call the decision "an initial victory."

Following the decision, Bachelet said, "We maintain the firm conviction that the Bolivian demand lacks all basis, as it confuses rights with aspirations."

The ICJ’s rulings are binding and cannot be appealed.