Guyana will pay its own fees if its border controversy with Venezuela goes to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Minister of State Joseph Harmon said last Thursday, while insisting that no oil company will be contributing.
“In the event that the matter goes to the ICJ, the legal fees would be paid by the Government of Guyana. The Government of Guyana is responsible for that. It’s a national sovereignty matter and it’s something we will have to pay for,” Harmon told a post-Cabinet news conference, where he was asked about the issue.
Before demitting office last year, the former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his assessment on the way forward declared that the long-running border controversy with Venezuela would be referred to the ICJ if significant progress is not made by the end of 2017 in the ongoing Good Officer process.
Over the last two and a half years, Guyana has