2nd round of submissions to be made to ICJ in border case

…as Guyana, Venezuela lock horns over timelines

A second round of submissions are expected to be made to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Guyana/Venezuela border case, following a meeting between agents on both sides with the court to determine the way forward.
On Tuesday, the ICJ convened a meeting with representatives of both Guyana and Venezuela on the border controversy case. The meeting, which was overseen by ICJ President, Judge Nawaf Salam, was to determine the way forward since Venezuela had submitted its counter memorial on April 8, 2024.

It was agreed by both sides that a second round of written pleadings were necessary. Where the two sides differed, however, was on the time period to submit them. Guyana proposed a six-month period from April, while Venezuela requested a 12-month period that would have been extended to October 2024.
Meanwhile, Venezuela claimed that the 12-month period was necessary given the case’s complexity. This is in spite of the ICJ’s procedural rules which generally favour shorter time limits. Guyana’s side argued that this request was excessive.
“Guyana noted that Venezuela’s request for a 12-month period was excessive given that the case has been pending for six (6) years and that the subsequent pleadings are not intended to recite facts and legal issues already raised,” a statement from the Attorney General’s chambers said.
Ultimately, it was decided that the ICJ will eventually issue an order setting timelines for both parties to make their submissions. According to the statement, “the Court will now issue an order setting appropriate timelines for both parties to submit their respective second-round of pleadings, taking into account the representative representations made.”
Guyana’s delegation was led by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC, and included Guyana’s Agent at the ICJ, Carl Greenidge, Legal Counsels Philippe Sands and Pierre D’Argent, and Lloyd Gunraj, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Guyana to the Kingdom of Belgium. Venezuela’s team meanwhile included Venezuela’s Agent to the ICJ, Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta, who was supported by a delegation and legal team.

Full and final
Venezuela maintains that the border with Guyana, a former colony of The Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK), was fraudulently imposed by the British. Guyana, on the other hand, maintains that the line was conclusively determined on October 3, 1899 — 124 years ago — by an arbitration panel (Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899).
The Anglo-Venezuelan Arbitral Tribunal met in Paris, France, and on October 3, 1899, gave its “full and final” award defining the border between Venezuela and the then British Guiana. Venezuela accepted the Award and signed on to it. This border was demarcated jointly by Venezuela and the colonial power Britain in 1907.
However, on February 14, 1962, Venezuela informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations that it considered there to be a “dispute” between itself and the UK “concerning the demarcation of the frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana”.
The Government of the UK, for its part, asserted on November 13, 1962 that “the western boundary of British Guiana with Venezuela (had been) finally settled by the award which the arbitral tribunal (had) announced on 3 October 1899”, and that it did not “agree that there (could) be any dispute over the question settled by the award”.
After various attempts to resolve the matter had failed, the representatives of the UK, Venezuela, and British Guiana signed the Geneva Agreement on February 17, 1966. Over Venezuela’s signature, the Agreement refers to the “controversy” raised by Venezuela.
On Feb 17, 1966, just before attaining independence, Guyana became a party to the Geneva Agreement. Attempts were made in the ensuing decades to resolve the dispute through different means of settlement outlined in the Geneva Agreement.
Finally, after no agreement had been reached, as per the procedure adumbrated in the Agreement, Guyana, in January 2018, passed the controversy over to the UN Secretary-General to choose a dispute mechanism as outlined by Art 33 of the UN Charter. He chose the ICJ as the means to resolve the controversy legally.
Guyana submitted its memorial since March 2022, with Venezuela given until April 2024 to submit its own counter-memorial. It did so on the very last day. This came after two attempts by Venezuela to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter, had been overturned. (G3)