BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, June 19. 2018 – THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) may not be the last leg of the lengthy battle between Guyana and Venezuela over the contentious border issue.
With the neighbouring countries expected to begin arguments on the border controversy at the ICJ, the Spanish-speaking country has backed out of court proceedings, instead positioning to have a diplomatic settlement to the matter.
At the center of the dispute is Venezuela’s claim to two-thirds of Guyana, but the English-speaking country is banking on an 1899 settlement that gave it the official right to the land.
In a statement issued yesterday, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry said: “The Venezuelan delegation has informed the president of the court, through a letter signed by the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, of its sovereign decision not to participate in the procedure that Guyana intends to initiate, since the Court manifestly lacks jurisdiction over an action unilaterally proposed by the neighboring country, which does not have the consent of Venezuela.”
But Guyana is hitting back, its government has moved to have the court rule in its favor, following Venezuela's pullout.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana advise that Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge and Guyana’s Legal Counsel attended the meeting convened by the Honourable Abdulqawi Abdul Yusuf, President of the International Court of Justice to discuss with Guyana and Venezuela the scheduling of written pleadings in the case – the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela)”.
Following the meeting, Guyana noted the issuance of a press release by Venezuela stating that it would not be participating in the case.
According to the statement, Guyana observes that under Article 53 of the Statute of the Court, “whenever one of the parties does not appear before the Court, or fails to defend its case, the other Party may call upon the Court to decide in favour of its claim”.
It is with that view in mind that, the Georgetown representatives intend to proceed in accordance with the said Article.
“Guyana is fully committed to the rule of law in international relations, including the peaceful resolution of disputes in conformity with international law. It trusts that the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations, will resolve the controversy with Venezuela in accordance with the law in a manner that is fair and equitable.
Guyanese officials said that they hope, in due course, that Venezuela will reconsider its position and decide to appear in Court and defend its case - the court’s rules allow for that.
But should it decide against that and persist in its refusal to participate, “the rules provide for the Court to proceed, after a full hearing of the case, to a final judgment that is legally binding on both the participating and nonparticipating parties”.
