ICJ hearings on Guyana-Venezuela set for June 30, 2020

DPI, Guyana, Friday, May 29, 2020

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has indicated that public hearings on the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana vs. Venezuela) will commence by videoconferencing on June 30, 2020.

In a press release issued on Friday, the ICJ noted that given the current circumstances as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, “the hearings will take place in the Great Hall of Justice using videoconference technology and with the physical presence of some of the Members of the Court.

Members of the media and the public will be able to follow the oral proceedings on the internet through a live webstream.”

The oral proceedings were scheduled to begin on March 23, 2020, but was postponed due to the current global health crisis.  It is expected to give the parties to the case an opportunity to address the question of the jurisdiction of the Court over the matter.

Guyana is seeking to have the court confirm the legal validity of the Award Regarding the Boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela, of October 3, 1899, while Venezuela has maintained that the ICJ has no jurisdiction to hear the case.