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Arbitral Award of Oct. 3, 1899 (Guy. v. Venez.) (Provisional Measures) (I.C.J.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2024

Callista Harris
Callista Harris*
Affiliation:
Dr. Callista Harris is a barrister at 7 Wentworth Selborne in Sydney, Australia
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Extract

On December 1, 2023, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a unanimous order on provisional measures in Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) (Provisional Measures Order). The ICJ indicated two provisional measures. It ordered first that, pending a final decision in the case, Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action that would modify the situation that currently prevails in the relevant disputed territory (the current situation being that Guyana administers and exercises control over the territory) and, second, that both states shall refrain from any action that might aggravate or extend the dispute before the ICJ.

Information

Type
International Legal Documents
Information
International Legal Materials , Volume 63 , Issue 6 , December 2024 , pp. 967 - 997
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of American Society of International Law

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References

ENDNOTES

1 Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guy. v. Venez.), Preliminary Measures Order, (Dec. 1, 2023), https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/171/171-20231201-ord-01-00-en.pdf [hereinafter December 2023 Order].

2 Id. ¶ 45.

3 Award regarding the Boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela, R.I.A.A., vol. XXVIII (Oct. 3, 1899), pp. 331–40.

4 See Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guy. v. Venez.), Judgment on Jurisdiction, 2020 I.C.J. Rep. (Dec. 18), 462 ¶ 19(1)–(2) [hereinafter December 2020 Judgment]. For a figure showing the disputed territory, see IBRU Centre for Borders Research, “Venezuela Calls for Talks with Guyana over Border Dispute” (Sept. 28, 2021), https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ibru-borders-research/news-and-events/boundary-news/venezuela-calls-for-talks-with-guyana-over-border-dispute/.

5 December 2023 Order, ¶ 13.

6 Id. ¶ 14.

7 “Memorandum Left with Judge Schoenrich Not to be Made Public Except at His Discretion after My Death” (1949) 43(3) A.J.I.L. 528–30.

8 December 2020 Judgment, 460 ¶¶ 5–6; 493 ¶ 138.

9 Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guy. v. Venez.), Judgment, (Apr. 6, 2023), ¶¶ 15, 108(2), https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/171/171-20230406-JUD-01-00-EN.pdf.

10 December 2023 Order, ¶¶ 7, 15.

11 Id. ¶ 11.

12 Id. ¶¶ 17–18.

13 Id. ¶¶ 19–20, 23, 25.

14 Id. ¶¶ 27–28, 34, 36–37 (emphasis added).

15 Id. ¶¶ 39–41, 43, 45.

16 See also Brendan Plant, Introductory Note to Arbitral Award of Oct. 3, 1899 (Guy. v. Venez.) (Decision on Jurisdiction) (I.C.J.), 60 I.L.M. 1112-5 (2021); Bertrand Ramcharan, Introductory Note to Arbitral Award of Oct. 3, 1899 (Guy. v. Venez.) (Preliminary Objections) (I.C.J.), 63 I.L.M. 149–51 (2024).

17 See, e.g., Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, Advisory Opinion, (July 19, 2024), ¶ 175.

18 Legal Status of the South-Eastern Territory of Greenland, 1932, P.C.I.J., Series A/B, No. 48, p. 288. See also id., pp. 285, 287. C.f., e.g., Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria, Provisional Measures Order, 1996 I.C.J. Rep. (Mar. 15) 22–23, ¶¶ 40, 42; Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Côte d'Ivoire), Provisional Measures Order of Apr. 25, 2015, ITLOS Rep. 161 ¶ 74; 163–64 ¶¶ 88–91, 96.

19 December 2023 Order, Declaration of Judge Sebutinde, ¶ 6.

20 Luke Taylor, Guyana appeals to US and UN as Maduro advances annexation of territory, The Guardian (Dec. 7, 2023), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/06/venezuela-annex-guyana-maduro.

21 Identical letters dated 6 December 2023 from the Permanent Representative of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, U.N. Doc. S/2023/961 (Dec. 6, 2023).

22 Press Release, The Agency for Public Information, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela & Guyana sign joint peace Declaration of Argyle (Dec. 15, 2023), https://www.gov.vc/images/pdf_documents/NEWS_RELEASE_Venezuela_and_Guyana_sign_joint_peace_Declaration_of_Argyle.pdf.

23 Letter dated 5 April 2024 from the Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, U.N. Doc. S/2024/295 (Apr. 5, 2024).

24 See, e.g., Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guy. v. Venez.), Order, (June 14, 2024), https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/171/171-20240614-ord-01-00-en.pdf.