THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold public hearings in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) from today until November 22, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court.

According to press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, the hearings will be devoted to the preliminary objections raised by Venezuela in response to Guyana’s submission of its Memorial on the merits of the case.

In giving some background information, the ministry said that Guyana brought the matter to the ICJ in an application submitted on March 28, 2018. The Court, in December 2020, confirmed its jurisdiction over the case, rejecting Venezuela’s objections.

Then on March 8, 2022, Guyana filed its Memorial on the merits of its case against Venezuela in accordance with the Court’s order of March 8, 2021.

Venezuela subsequently filed preliminary objections to the admissibility of Guyana’s Application to the Court to determine the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award on June, 2022.

In accordance with its rules, the Court suspended the proceedings on the merits until the determination by the Court of the matter of Venezuela’s preliminary objections.

The hearings will be streamed live in English, on the Court’s website and on UN Web TV.

“The people of Guyana have remained firmly united in the quest to preserve Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. To this end, the Government invited the Leader of the Opposition to name a representative from the combined Opposition to be part of Guyana’s delegation to The Hague. That invitation has been accepted,” the release added.

Guyana will be represented at the hearings by Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.; Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira; Agent of Guyana in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899, Carl Greenidge; Co-Agent and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper; Director of the Frontiers Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Donnette Streete; and Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition on Frontier matters, Ambassador Ronald Austin.

Guyana’s legal team is being headed by Co-Agent and Counsel, Sir Shridath Ramphal and includes member of the Bars of the United States Supreme Court and the District of Columbia, Paul S. Reichler; Professor Emeritus of the University Paris Nanterre, former Chairman of the International Law Commission and member of the Institut de droit international, Alain Pellet; Professor of International Law at University College, London, Philippe Sands; Professor of International Law and Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto and member of the Bar of New York, the Law Society of Ontario and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Payam Akhavan; Professor ordinaire, Université Catholique de Louvain and member of the Institut de Droit International, Foley Hoag LLP and the Bar of Brussels, Pierre d’Argent; member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, the State of New York, England and Wales, and the Law Society of Ontario, Christina L. Beharry; Barrister from Matrix Chambers, London, Edward Craven; member of the Bar of the State of New York, Juan Pablo Hugues Arthur and member of the Bar of the District of Columbia, Isabella F. Uria.

Guyana maintains that a judicial settlement of the matter is the only recourse remaining as it has exhausted all other measures.

As recently as October 4, the United States government reaffirmed the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and solidified its support for a “peaceful resolution” of the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy through the proper court, if there is any deviation from that Award.

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.