Guyana marked the 123rd anniversary of the Anglo-Venezuelan Arbitral Tribunal which fixed the boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana, optimistic that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will decide the ongoing border dispute with the South American country in its favor.
“Guyana is optimistic that the Court will decide the case in its favor and that the validity of the arbitral award, and the border will be upheld. In the meantime, it is dedicating all of its efforts to the achievement of this outcome,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.
The ministry said the tribunal created by the Treaty of Washington of 1897, provided for both Britain and Venezuela to agree to accept the tribunal’s award as a ‘full, perfect, and final settlement of the boundary issue.
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“123 years later, Guyana still accepts and celebrates the award as such,” the ministry said noting that Caracas had applauded the award.
“In the words of the law firm handling Venezuela’s case, written in the American Journal of International Law as late as 1949: “The award secured to Venezuela the mouth of the Orinoco and control of the Orinoco basin, these being the most important questions at issue,” the ministry said, adding that on May 7, 1905, an official boundary map was drawn up by Commissioners of Britain and Venezuela delineating the boundary as awarded by the Tribunal.
“For almost sixty years, Venezuela recognized, respected – and even protected – that boundary. In 1962 however, as Guyana’s independence drew closer and the neighbor would no longer be Britain but a fledgling State, Venezuela abandoned the path of propriety and with it the rule of law and cast eyes on Guiana’s Essequibo territory.”
Georgetown said as it celebrates the anniversary date of the Arbitral Award of Paris of 3rd October 1899, “we celebrate the rule of international law and the sanctity of Treaties.
“We celebrate that our quest for justice has led us to the hallowed halls of the International Court of Justice,” the ministry said, noting that Guyana brought the matter to the Court in an Application submitted on 29 March 2018.
“The Court confirmed its jurisdiction over Guyana’s claims, rejecting Venezuela’s objections, in a judgment issued on 18 December 2020. This assures that it will be the court that decides, with final and binding effect on the parties – Guyana and Venezuela – whether the 1899 Arbitral Award establishing the international boundary between the two States was lawfully issued and remains legally valid and permanently binding as a matter of international law,” the ministry added.
CMC/
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