On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the 1899 Arbitral Award, Guyana has reiterated its commitment to the arbitral award in a commitment that, rather than waning over the years, has instead only grown.
In a statement from the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry, the Government has noted that Guyana still accepts and honours the Arbitral Award 125 years later.
The Ministry has also urged Venezuela to exhibit that same honour, noting that the Spanish-speaking country had previously accepted this award, and that in 1905, both countries had signed the Agreement, thereby fixing the boundary in strict conformity with the 1899 Award.
“The 1899 Award was the culmination of arbitral proceedings during which the respective territorial claims of Great Britain and Venezuela were addressed at great length and in detail by distinguished legal counsel representing the two States, including through many thousands of pages of written submissions and more than 200 hours of oral hearings before the Arbitral Tribunal,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry has said.
“Venezuela, for its part, treated the Award as a final settlement of the boundary for more than six decades after it was delivered. It consistently recognised, affirmed, and relied upon the 1899 Award as ‘a full, perfect, and final’ determination of the boundary with British Guiana. Between 1900 and 1905, together with the British, Venezuela participated in a joint demarcation of the boundary in strict adherence to the letter of the 1899 Award, and emphatically refused to countenance even minor technical modifications of the boundary line described in the Award,” the Ministry continued.
The Ministry noted that as Guyana commemorates the anniversary of the Arbitral Award of 3rd October, 1899, it is done with respect for the rule of international law and Guyana’s ‘pacta sunt servanda’ obligation.
The Ministry also pointed out that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) already issued judgements in 2020 and 2023, affirming its jurisdiction over the case.
“The Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana has never been more convinced that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is valid, and that the rule of international law and the processes of the International Court of Justice will provide a peaceful settlement of the matter,” the Ministry has said.
“Today, again we call for honour as we celebrate on this anniversary date that faithful Arbitral Award of Paris of 3rd October 1899, in continued respect for the sanctity of Treaties and the rule of law,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Guyana and Venezuela are currently before the ICJ to determine a final resolution to the ongoing border controversy in which the Bolivarian Republic is seeking to annex more than two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory in a unilateral move that has been widely condemned by regional and international communities.
Both countries have submitted their memorials and counter-memorials. In June 2024, the ICJ convened a meeting with representatives of both Guyana and Venezuela on the border controversy case. The meeting, which was overseen by ICJ President, Judge Nawaf Salam, was to determine the way forward, since Venezuela had submitted its counter-memorial on April 8, 2024.
It was agreed upon by both sides that a second round of written pleadings was necessary. Where the two sides differed, however, was in the period to submit them. Guyana proposed six months from April, while Venezuela requested a 12-month period that would have been extended to October 2024.
Meanwhile, Venezuela claimed that the 12-month period was necessary, given the case’s complexity. This is despite the ICJ’s procedural rules which generally favour shorter time limits. Guyana’s side argued that this request was excessive.
It was ultimately decided that Guyana and Venezuela would be given until December 9, 2024 and August 11, 2025 respectively to make a second round of written submissions.
