Int’l Court sets June 30 to hear Guyana/Venezuela border case via videoconference

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday announced that the public hearings of the Guyana/Venezuela border case will be held on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, at 2 p.m. by videoconference.

The case was initially slated to commence on March 23, 2020, but was postponed as a result of deadly new Coronavirus.

The International Court noted Friday that “in view of the current 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 Members of the Court. Members of the media and the public will be able to follow the oral proceedings on internet through a live webstream. The programme of the hearings will be announced at a later stage.”

Guyana in March 2018 submitted its Application to the ICJ requesting the Court to confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Arbitral Award regarding the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.

However, Venezuela refused to participate in the procedure and opted to instead challenge the court’s authority to settle the decade-old controversy.

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the UN Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in April 1946. The court has 15 Judges elected for a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the UN.

The court has a role to settle legal disputes submitted by countries and to give advisory opinions on legal questions. A ruling from the court is without appeal.