ICJ to Begin Hearing Guyana-Venezuela Border Case on Merits in May

 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin oral hearings next month in Guyana’s case against Venezuela over the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that settled the land boundary between the two countries, marking a critical stage in a controversy that has spanned more than a century.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall said the hearings will open on May 4 at The Hague and are expected to continue until May 8, with the possibility of extending into the following week. He confirmed he will join Guyana’s team of international lawyers for the proceedings.

The case was filed by Guyana in March 2018 under the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration led by former President David Granger, after then United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres determined that the ICJ was the appropriate mechanism to resolve the long-running border controversy.

Guyana is seeking a final declaration from the Court affirming that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which legally established the boundary between then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid, final and binding under international law. The Award granted Guyana sovereignty over the Essequibo region, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the country’s landmass and is rich in minerals, forests and other natural resources.

Although Venezuela accepted the boundary for more than six decades, it reversed its position in 1962—just before Guyana attained independence—declaring the Award null and void and laying claim to the entire Essequibo region.

That territorial claim has intensified in recent years, particularly following major offshore oil discoveries in Guyana, with Venezuela extending its claims to Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

Nandlall disclosed that Guyana has already filed two written pleadings on the merits of the case, while Venezuela has also submitted two pleadings, the latest of which was filed in August 2025.

He said the Attorney General’s Chambers, working alongside the Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is preparing Guyana’s legal team and supporting materials for the hearings.

The oral arguments will mark the most substantive phase of the proceedings, during which both countries will present their legal and historical positions before the Court moves toward a final judgment.

The ICJ has already ruled in Guyana’s favour on major procedural issues. In December 2020, the Court found that it had jurisdiction to hear the case, rejecting Venezuela’s challenge. In April 2023, it dismissed Venezuela’s preliminary objections, clearing the way for a hearing on the merits.

In December 2023, after Guyana sought urgent intervention over Venezuela’s planned referendum on annexing the Essequibo, the Court issued provisional measures ordering both parties to refrain from any action that could alter Guyana’s administration and control of the disputed territory while the case remains pending.

The Guyana Government has repeatedly expressed confidence in its case, maintaining that its written submissions have demonstrated that Venezuela’s legal challenge to the 1899 Award is without merit and that the Court will ultimately uphold the validity, finality and binding nature of the boundary.

A final ruling is not expected immediately after the hearings, but legal analysts say the May proceedings will bring the case significantly closer to a definitive judgment—one that would be binding under international law and could finally settle one of South America’s oldest territorial disputes.