The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has outlined a clear timetable for the presentation of oral arguments on whether it has jurisdiction over the case filed by Guyana – Arbitral Award of 1899 (Guyana v Venezuela).

In a statement on Thursday, the ICJ confirmed that public hearings will be conducted from March 23-27, 2020 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court. “The hearings will give the parties to the case the possibility to address the question of the jurisdiction of the Court,” the ICJ explained.

According to the established scheduled, the first round of oral argument will commence on Monday, March 23, 2020 with Guyana leading arguments from 10:00hrs to 13:00hrs. On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, Venezuela is expected to present its case from 10:00hrs to 13:00hrs. The International Court indicated that the second round of oral argument will commence on Wednesday with Guyana defending its position from 16:30hrs to 18:00hrs. Venezuela is expected to follow on Friday March 27, 2020 from 10:00hrs to 11:30hrs.
Although contending that the ICJ lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate Guyana’s lawsuit, Venezuela failed to submit its Counter-Memorial on Jurisdiction – in response to Guyana’s Memorial on April 18, 2019 – a date which was fixed by the court.

The hearing will determine whether the Court has jurisdiction over the case filed by Guyana on March 29, 2018. By that case, Guyana seeks to obtain from the Court a final and binding judgment that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then-British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid and binding, and that Guyana’s Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela.

Guyana filed its case before the ICJ after United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres, in January 2018, referred the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela to the world court. In taking his decision, the Secretary-General was exercising the power vested in him in the 1966 Geneva Agreement between Guyana, Venezuela and the United Kingdom to decide how the controversy should be settled, the Foreign Affairs Ministry had explained.
In a letter to the Court, Venezuela contended that the Secretary-General exceeded his authority under the Geneva Agreement, and that the Court therefore lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate Guyana’s lawsuit. On that basis, Venezuela has indicated that it will not participate in the proceedings.

Regardless of Venezuela’s participation, the ICJ will hand down a ruling on the matter. “Under well-established judicial precedent, the Court will proceed to decide if it has jurisdiction over Guyana’s claims, irrespective of whether or not Venezuela participates in the proceedings. If it decides that it has jurisdiction, the Court will proceed to rule on the merits of those claims, and decide whether the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the border between the two States should be confirmed,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry had explained.

It noted that under the United Nations Charter and the Court’s own rules, its final judgments both on jurisdiction and the merits will be legally binding on Guyana and Venezuela, whether or not Venezuela participates in the proceedings.

In its submission, Guyana pointed out that the boundary with Venezuela was established by an arbitral tribunal constituted pursuant to a treaty concluded by Venezuela and Great Britain in 1897. It said the record would show that Venezuela accepted the unanimous award rendered by five eminent jurists on October 3, 1899. The Spanish-speaking country had also participated in a joint commission to demarcate the boundary on the ground, and insisted on the award’s strict implementation. Decades later, Venezuela, in anticipation of Guyana’s independence, cease recognising the award’s validity and binding nature, using that pretext to lay claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.