A short while ago the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear Guyana’s case seeking the validation of the 1899 arbitral award establishing the boundary with Venezuela.
The judgment found that both Guyana and Venezuela had conferred authority on the UN Secretary-General under Article 4, paragraph two of the February 17th 1966 Geneva Agreement. That agreement allowed the Secretary-General to choose a means of settlement under Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations which included judicial settlement.
President Irfaan Ali along with members of his Cabinet, members of civil society, and heads of the Joint Services took part in a viewing of the ruling at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Lilliendaal. The judgment was delivered by the President of the ICJ, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.