Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips expressed confidence that Guyana will emerge fully victorious in its historic border controversy case against Venezuela, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prepares to deliver its final judgement.
Delivering a statement in the National Assembly on Friday, the prime minister announced that all submissions in the case have now been completed, bringing to an end eight years of proceedings before the world’s highest judicial body.
“Guyana is more confident than ever that the Court will uphold the legal validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the finality and permanence of the international boundary between Guyana and Venezuela,” Prime Minister Phillips told the House.
The oral hearings concluded on May 11 in The Hague, leaving only the court’s deliberations and final judgement to be issued.
While no date has yet been set, Prime Minister Phillips said judgements are typically delivered between six and eight months after oral hearings conclude, placing the likely timeframe between November 2026 and January 2027.
He emphasised that whatever decision is handed down by the court will be legally binding on both Guyana and Venezuela under the United Nations Charter and the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
“The very fact that this case reached the ICJ and that the written and oral phases of the proceedings were carried out to their completion represents a triumph for the rule of law and the rules-based international order,” the prime minister stated.
PM Phillips reiterated Guyana’s longstanding position that disputes between states must be settled peacefully and in accordance with international law, rather than through threats or the use of force.
The prime minister said Guyana’s legal team presented compelling arguments during the recent hearings, exposing what he described as the lack of merit in Venezuela’s claims.
PM Phillips noted that the court’s final ruling is expected to bring closure to a controversy that began in 1962 when Venezuela challenged the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award after more than six decades of recognising and respecting the established boundary.
“The oral hearings established that Venezuela made this very belated protest precisely at the time Guyana was nearing its independence and when British troops would be departing,” he said.
Since then, Guyana has successfully defended the court’s jurisdiction against repeated challenges by Venezuela.