The scheduled case management conference in the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy matter before the International Court of Justice has been postponed for next two weeks, according to Guyana’s Agent on the Guyana/Venezuela Border Controversy case Carl Greenidge.
“The case management has been postponed for reasons we are not aware of. [It’s] been postponed for the 25th of this month [January],” Greenidge told this publication today.
Guyana was made aware of this postponement last week, he said.
While Greenidge could not say whether the change had anything to do with last week’s decree issued by the Nicolás Maduro regime, which has renewed claims to Guyana’s maritime border west of the Essequibo Coast, it would appear as though the postponement was made upon the request of Venezuela.
President Maduro has claimed that he had asked the ICJ to postpone the hearing for three months but they only postponed it for 10 days.
Nevertheless, Guyana’s Agent noted that at the upcoming case management conference on January 25, the World Court will decide on the time to be allotted to each of the parties, they will find out whether Venezuela will participate and they will also give an opportunity to clear up any matters to deal with the procedures which the parties or the court may have.
Guyana has approached the World Court for a final and binding settlement of the border controversy.
However, last week, the Maduro regime issued a decree claiming for Venezuela sovereignty and exclusive sovereign rights in the waters and seabed adjacent to Guyana’s coast, west of the Essequibo River – a move which has been widely rejected here by government, the opposition, civil society bodies as well as bilateral partners.
