The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today rejected the preliminary objection by Venezuela to Guyana’s application before it for the upholding of the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award settling the boundaries between the two countries.
The decision read by Judge Joan E. Donoghue, President of the Court is a victory for Guyana.
The court will now proceed to address the substantive application by Guyana for the upholding of the validity of the award.
By a vote of 14 to 1, the court rejected Venezuela’s argument that the United Kingdom as Guyana’s colonial power should have been a party to the proceedings.
The court pointed out that based on the Articles of the Geneva Convention of February 17, 1966, it was clear that the two parties to the settlement of the controversy over the arbitral award were British Guiana and Venezuela.
The court also rejected Caracas’ argument that the principle of Monetary Gold where a third party is absent from the proceedings bans the tribunal from acting does not apply. Therefore the UN Secretary Antonio Guterres was able to operate under Article 33 of the UN Charter to refer the controversy to the ICJ as requested by Guyana.
In March 2018, Guyana filed its application with the ICJ to confirm the validity and binding effect of the Arbitral Award of 1899 on the boundary between the two countries and the subsequent 1905 agreement, following the decision by the UN Secretary-General Guterres to choose the ICJ as the next means of resolving the controversy which stems from Venezuela’s contention that the award was null and void.
In its Application of March 29, 2018 before the ICJ, Guyana requested that the Court adjudge and declare that:
“(a) The 1899 Award is valid and binding upon Guyana and Venezuela, and the boundary established by that Award and the 1905 Agreement is valid and binding upon Guyana and Venezuela;
(b) Guyana enjoys full sovereignty over the territory between the Essequibo River and the boundary established by the 1899 Award and the 1905 Agreement, and Venezuela enjoys full sovereignty over the territory west of that boundary; Guyana and Venezuela are under an obligation to fully respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in accordance with the boundary established by the 1899 Award and the 1905 Agreement;
(c) Venezuela shall immediately withdraw from and cease its occupation of the eastern half of the Island of Ankoko, and each and every other territory which is recognized as Guyana’s sovereign territory in accordance with the 1899 Award and 1905 Agreement;
(d) Venezuela shall refrain from threatening or using force against any person and/or company licensed by Guyana or engage in economic or commercial activity in Guyanese territory as determined by the 1899 Award and 1905 Agreement, or in any maritime areas appurtenant to such territory over which Guyana has sovereignty or exercises sovereign rights, and shall not interfere with any Guyanese or Guyanese-authorised activities in those areas;
(e) Venezuela is internationally responsible for violations of Guyana’s sovereignty and sovereign rights, and for all injuries suffered by Guyana as a consequence.”
Guyana’s recourse to the ICJ came after decades of stalemate in its border controversy with Venezuela. While Venezuela had said it was not participating in the process, it was a part of the case management process. Its Vice President Delcy Rodríguez had told the ICJ that her country’s participation was “as a courtesy, not as a party in this procedure.”
On 7 June 2022, however, Caracas joined the proceedings when it raised preliminary objections to the admissibility of the case before the Court. Hearings on this matter were heard by the ICJ in November last year. Lawyers presented arguments for Guyana and Venezuela over several days.
President Irfaan Ali today issued the following statement:
Statement by
His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali,
President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Today in The Hague, the International Court of Justice handed down its ruling in the case between Guyana and Venezuela on Venezuela’s Objection to the Court’s Jurisdiction. The Court rejected Venezuela’s objection and upheld its jurisdiction to decide the case by a vote of 14 to 1.
This means the Court will now proceed to decide the (controversy) between the two States on the merits, and ultimately issue a final and binding determination on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that fixed the land boundary between Venezuela and then-British Guiana. Venezuela and the United Kingdom recognised the validity of that Arbitral Award and the resulting international boundary for more than 60 years. Upon its independence in 1966, Guyana also recognised the Award and the boundary, but Venezuela had changed its position and begun claiming more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory west of the Essequibo River.
This is the second time the International Court has rejected jurisdictional objections raised by Venezuela. In December 2020, the Court overruled Venezuela’s objections by a vote of 12-4. In June 2022, Venezuela raised a new objection. Oral hearings were held in November 2022, during which both parties appeared and presented their arguments before the Court. Today’s ruling disposes of that objection, and will require Venezuela to submit its written pleadings on the merits of the case – that is, on the validity of the Arbitral Award and the international boundary that it established.
Guyana remains confident that its longstanding international boundary with Venezuela will be confirmed by the Court.
Guyana has always been fully committed to the peaceful resolution of the dispute with its neighbour and sister Republic in accordance with international law. That is why, after attempting unsuccessfully to achieve a diplomatic settlement through talks mediated by the United Nations Secretary-General over more than two decades, Guyana brought the matter to the International Court of Justice for a final and binding determination. All Member States of the United Nations, including Guyana and Venezuela, are obligated under the United Nations Charter to comply with the Court’s binding judgments.
I thank you and I take this opportunity to also thank our legal team, our agent, all the stakeholders, every Guyanese for the continued commitment and outstanding work as we proceed with this matter in the International Court of Justice.
Thank you
APNU+AFC welcomes the Judgment of the International Court of Justice on preliminary objections in the Guyana v. Venezuela Case
The APNU+AFC stands with the Government and people of Guyana in welcoming the decision handed down today, Thursday 6th April 2023, by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). With the Court’s rejection of Venezuela’s preliminary objections, the way has now been cleared for the ICJ to adjudicate on the merits of the case, in pursuit of a final and binding judgment on the matter.
Today’s decision is further proof of the validity and rightness of our position. We join with all Guyanese in praising the excellent work of our legal team and representatives. Guyanese will continue to stand united on the issue of defending its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
