GUYANA remains steadfast in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity as it awaits the final judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the border controversy with Venezuela, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips told the National Assembly on Friday.
Providing an update on the landmark case, Phillips said Guyana’s submissions before the world court have now been fully completed, with oral hearings concluding on May 11, leaving only the Court’s deliberations and final ruling.
“The submissions of both parties, presented over the course of the past eight years, concluded on May 11 with the completion of the oral hearings in The Hague. All that remains now is for the Court itself to deliberate, draft its final Judgment, and issue it in a public session,” the Prime Minister said.
According to Phillips, while no date has yet been announced, the Court generally takes between six and eight months after oral hearings conclude to issue a judgement, placing a likely ruling between November 2026 and January 2027.
He emphasised that whatever decision is handed down by the Court will be legally binding on both Guyana and Venezuela under international law.
“The very fact that this case reached the ICJ, and that the written and oral phases of the proceedings were carried out to their completion, represents a triumph for the rule of law and the rules-based international order,” Phillips told the Assembly.
The Prime Minister said Guyana is more confident than ever that the Court will uphold the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and confirm the international boundary recognised by the international community.
“While we cannot know with certainty how the Court will rule, Guyana is confident – in fact, after the oral hearings last month, Guyana is more confident than ever — that the Court will uphold the legal validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the finality and permanence of the international boundary between Guyana and Venezuela,” he said.
Phillips added that Guyana expects the Court to order Venezuela not to seize, annex, trespass upon or threaten any part of Guyanese territory as defined by the 1899 Award.
“In short, we expect to be fully victorious in this historic, and for Guyana, existential, case,” he declared.
The Prime Minister also reflected on the long history of the controversy, noting that Venezuela first challenged the 1899 Arbitral Award in 1962 after accepting and respecting the boundary for more than six decades.
He highlighted several favourable rulings already secured by Guyana, including the ICJ’s 2020 decision affirming its jurisdiction over the matter, the Court’s rejection of Venezuela’s objections in 2023, and provisional measures issued in both 2023 and 2025 ordering Venezuela to refrain from actions that could alter the status quo in Guyana’s Essequibo Region.
Phillips said Guyana will continue to await the Court’s decision “with patience, dignity and optimism” while maintaining its commitment to peace and good neighbourly relations.
“We will continue to address Venezuela in a spirit of peace, co-operation and friendship, and as sovereign equals. We will respect Venezuela’s sovereignty, as we have always done, and insist that Venezuela refrain from trespassing on, or threatening, Guyana’s sovereignty,” he said.
He added that Guyana will insist that the Court’s final judgement be fully respected and implemented, describing this as the only path towards lasting peace and stability between the two countries.