Guyana is asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule that Venezuela shall refrain from using force against any company granted permission to conduct economic activities in Guyana.
In its application to the ICJ on March 29, the Co-operative Republic is also asking the court to rule that Venezuela immediately withdraw from the eastern half of the Island of Ankoko and “each and every” other territory which is recognized as Guyana’s sovereign territory in accordance with the 1899 Arbitral Award and 1905 Agreement –a joint declaration signed by commissioners who identified, demarcated and permanently fixed the boundary established by the Award.
The International Court on Wednesday published a statement on the application submitted by Guyana to begin the legal process of settling the decade-old controversy.
The judicial settlement of the dispute was recommended by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres following the failure of other processes to fix the problem.
In its Application, Guyana requests the Court to adjudge and declare that: “Venezuela shall refrain from threatening or using force against any person and/or company licensed by Guyana or engage in economic or commercial activity in Guyanese territory as determined by the 1899 Award and 1905 Agreement, or in any maritime areas appurtenant to such territory over which Guyana has sovereignty or exercises sovereign rights, and shall not interfere with any Guyanese or Guyanese-authorised activities in those areas.”
The border controversy that has been ongoing for several decades but further escalated in 2015 after US Oil major Exxon Mobil announced its first significant oil find offshore Guyana. This did not augur well since ExxonMobil and the Bolivarian Republic was already fighting a decade-long battle over compensation for oil projects expropriated by the Venezuelan government in 2007.
Guyana is currently funding its legal procedure with a US$18M signing bonus received from ExxonMobil in late 2016.
The Guyana Government pointed out in its application that Venezuela is “internationally responsible for violations of Guyana’s sovereignty and sovereign rights, and for all injuries suffered by Guyana as a consequence.”
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
