Guyana-Venezuela border case: ruling on jurisdiction set for Dec. 18

ON December 18, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will deliver its decision on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the Guyana-Venezuela border case.
The judgement will be delivered by President of the ICJ, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, at a public sitting at the Peace Palace in the Hague, Netherland, at 15:00 hours.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, representation at the reading will be limited to two per State. The Government of Guyana will be represented at these hearings by David Hales, Ambassador of Guyana to Belgium and non-resident Ambassador to the Netherlands and Lloyd Gunraj, First Secretary, Embassy of Guyana, Brussels.

In March 2018, Guyana filed its application in the ICJ seeking an affirmation of the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the international boundary that it established.
On June 30, Guyana, in its virtual presentation in the Arbitral Award of October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) case said that, not only is Venezuela’s current interpretation of the Geneva Agreement illogical and erroneous, but it is in stark contrast to the interpretation the Spanish-speaking country had when it signed the very agreement in February, 1966.

Represented by a battery of international lawyers, Guyana said that the agreement, in unambiguous terms, empowered the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General to determine an appropriate dispute resolution mechanism to enable a peaceful settlement, which is the ICJ.
Distinguished Guyanese Diplomat and Co-Agent, Sir Shridath Ramphal, who had led the arguments before the ICJ said the case was of significant importance to the people of Guyana, who are united in defence of their sovereignty and territorial integrity of their homeland.

Guyana is seeking to obtain a final and binding judgement that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid, and that the Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela.