AG Nandlall calls for clear, unambiguous ICJ ruling on 1899 Award

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, on Friday urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague to deliver a clear, explicit and unambiguous judgement affirming the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award, warning that any ambiguity could embolden Venezuela to continue laying claim to the majority of Guyana’s sovereign territory.

Delivering Guyana’s final presentation during the third day of public hearings in the case concerning the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award, Minister Nandlall described the proceedings as profoundly important to Guyana’s existence, sovereignty and future.

“For Guyana and its people, the stakes could scarcely be higher,” Minister Nandlall told the court.

He said generations of Guyanese have lived under what he described as the “long and threatening shadow” of Venezuela’s claim to more than 70 per cent of Guyana’s territory.

“The loss of the territory claimed by Venezuela would eviscerate Guyana. Indeed, the country as we know it would cease to exist,” he declared.

The legal affairs minister said Guyana’s decision to bring the matter before the ICJ in 2018 reflected the country’s unwavering belief in international law and peaceful dispute resolution.

“It is founded on a firm conviction that international law is the bedrock of the international order and the indispensable foundation for peaceful relations between all states,” he said.

The attorney general accused Venezuela of persistently attempting to avoid a judgement on the merits of the case, despite previous rulings by the court in 2020 and 2023 confirming its jurisdiction.

“Venezuela has strained every sinew to avoid the court delivering a judgement on the merits of Guyana’s application,” he argued.

According to the minister, Guyana’s legal team has convincingly demonstrated that Venezuela’s attacks on both the 1897 Treaty of Washington and the 1899 Arbitral Award are without merit.

He told the court that Venezuela was neither deceived nor coerced into signing the 1897 treaty, which ultimately achieved Venezuela’s long-standing demand for international arbitration of the border controversy.

Minister Nandlall further argued that Venezuela’s allegations regarding fraud, procedural irregularities and lack of reasoning in the award fail to invalidate the decision.

“The award was and remains valid and binding on the parties,” he stated.

He reminded the court that Venezuela accepted and respected the award for more than six decades before repudiating it in the 1960s.

Turning to Venezuela’s invocation of decolonisation principles, Nandlall described the argument as deeply ironic.

“In the years since Guyana attained independence in 1966, Venezuela has acted in a way that has striking echoes of the imperial colonialists whom it rightly denounces,” he said.

The attorney general also criticised what he described as Venezuela’s attempts to rewrite the history of the Essequibo region, including claims made during the hearings regarding the origin of the Essequibo River’s name.

“The name of the Essequibo River is, in fact, derived from an Indigenous word, ‘Dishikibo‘ (or ‘Jishikibo’), meaning ‘fireside’, which was later adopted by the Dutch and the British,” he said.

The minister stressed that the wording of the court’s eventual judgement would be critically important to securing a lasting resolution to the controversy.

“If the court accepts Guyana’s arguments, as we are confident that it will, then it is essential that the court’s judgement directly, explicitly and unambiguously affirm the validity of the 1899 Award in its integrity and the boundary which it established,” he urged.

“Any ambiguity or qualification in the court’s judgement will inevitably be seized upon by Venezuela as a basis for continuing to lay claim to vast swaths of Guyana’s sovereign territory.”

The hearings before the ICJ in The Hague will continue on Monday with Venezuela’s final presentation.