Guyana on Monday submitted its memorial to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) pertaining to the question of whether the court has jurisdiction to adjudicate over a juridical settlement of the long-running border controversy between this country and Venezuela.
A statement yesterday from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Guyana filed its Memorial in accordance with the Order of the Court dated 19 June 2018 that determined it would first resolve the question of the Court’s jurisdiction in light of Venezuela’s refusal to participate in the proceedings based on its contention that the ICJ lacked standing.
The statement said that Guyana’s Memorial shows there is no basis to Venezuela’s contention that the means of settlement listed in Article 33 of the UN Charter must be selected by the Secretary-General successively, so that the means listed ahead of judicial settlement have to be utilised before recourse to the Court can be chosen.
“Nothing in the text of Article IV of the Geneva Agreement, which provides a menu of options, not a predetermined sequence, supports Venezuela’s interpretation. Nor is Venezuela correct in arguing that, as it has recently asserted, the controversy must be resolved exclusively by friendly negotiations, a claim that is belied by the express terms of the Geneva Agreement and contemporaneous statements by the parties during its negotiation and ratification”, the statement said.
The ministry said that Guyana prepared its Memorial bearing in mind the Court’s edict that it should be informed of all the legal and factual grounds on which the parties rely in the matter of its jurisdiction. Guyana’s submission therefore sets out, the ministry said how the boundary with Venezuela was determined by an arbitral tribunal constituted pursuant to a treaty concluded by Venezuela and Great Britain in 1897.
The ministry statement noted that Venezuela accepted this unanimous award, which was delivered by five eminent jurists on 3 October 1899, celebrated its outcome, participated in a joint commission to demarcate the boundary on the ground, and insisted on the strict implementation of the award.
Only decades later, the statement noted did Venezuela, in anticipation of Guyana’s independence, cease recognizing the award’s validity and binding nature, using that pretext to claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.
To enable a final resolution to the controversy through peaceful means, the Government of British Guiana, Venezuela and the United Kingdom concluded the Geneva Agreement on 17 February 1966. The statement noted that Article IV of that treaty authorizes the Secretary-General of the United Nations to decide which of the means listed in Article 33 of the United Nations Charter – which includes binding adjudication by the International Court of Justice – shall be used to settle the controversy. In agreeing to Article IV, Venezuela consented to the Court’s jurisdiction in the event the Secretary-General decides that the controversy should be resolved by the Court.
The ministry statement said that efforts over more than half-a-century, including a four-year Mixed Commission (1966-1970), a twelve-year moratorium (1970-1982), a seven-year process of consultations on a means of settlement (1983-1990), and a twenty-seven-year Good Offices Process under the UN Secretary-General’s authority (1990-2017), all failed to resolve the controversy. The statement noted that on 30 January 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, acting under the authority conferred upon him by the Geneva Agreement, chose adjudication by the Court as the means for resolving the controversy with finality. Guyana as a result began proceedings before the Court on 29 March 2018 in accordance with the Secretary-General’s decision.
“Guyana has no doubt that the Court has jurisdiction to resolve the controversy that has plagued its relations with Venezuela and undermined its ability to develop its sovereign territory and natural resources. Guyana expresses its sincere hope that Venezuela will reconsider its refusal to participate in the judicial process that the UN Secretary-General has decided will be the means by which the controversy will be resolved”, the statement said.
Guyana’s representation before the Court is led by its Agent, Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl B. Greenidge, and by its Co-Agents, Sir Shridath Ramphal and Ambassador Audrey Waddell.
