Guyana asks the Court to confirm that the 1899 Arbitral Award fixing the boundary is valid and binding and that the Essequibo region, about two thirds of Guyana’s territory and the site of major offshore oil discoveries, is Guyanese. Venezuela contends the award is null. The Court upheld jurisdiction in 2020, rejected admissibility objections in 2023 and issued provisional measures in 2023 and 2025 after Venezuela’s referendum and annexation law.
LATEST DEVELOPMENT · MAY 11, 2026
Public hearings on the merits were held 4 to 11 May 2026. The Court has begun deliberation.
BACKGROUND
The dispute traces back to the late nineteenth century when the United Kingdom, acting for its colony of British Guiana, and Venezuela both claimed the land between the Essequibo and Orinoco rivers. An 1897 treaty sent the question to arbitration, and a tribunal of British, American and Russian arbitrators issued a unanimous award on 3 October 1899 that gave the disputed territory to British Guiana. Venezuela accepted that boundary for over sixty years, including through a demarcation commission, before reversing course shortly before Guyana’s 1966 independence and asserting the award was procured through collusion between British and Russian arbitrators.
Guyana filed its application at the ICJ in March 2018 after the UN Secretary-General, exercising authority under the 1966 Geneva Agreement, referred the long-dormant controversy to the Court. Guyana wants a final judgment confirming the 1899 Award’s validity and the resulting boundary. Venezuela has contested the Court’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of the claim, and has continued to assert sovereignty over Essequibo through domestic referenda, a 2023 “organic law” purporting to create a Venezuelan state there, and threats around elections, prompting Guyana to seek and win provisional measures in 2023 and again in 2025.
The Court rejected Venezuela’s jurisdictional objection in December 2020, rejected a further admissibility objection in April 2023, and issued two provisional measures orders directing Venezuela to refrain from altering the status quo. Oral hearings on the merits took place at the Peace Palace from 4 to 11 May 2026, with both sides presenting extensive argument on the validity of the 1899 Award and the effect of the Geneva Agreement. The Court has since begun its deliberations, and a merits judgment is expected but had not been issued as of September 2026.
The stakes are unusually high because the disputed territory, roughly two thirds of Guyana’s landmass, sits atop major offshore oil discoveries that have transformed Guyana’s economy, and because Venezuela has signaled it may not accept an adverse ruling, raising questions about how any judgment would be enforced.
TIMELINE
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MAY 11, 2026HEARINGMerits hearings conclude, Court begins deliberationVenezuela closed its argument by framing the case as a challenge to colonial-era border settlements. The Court closed hearings and moved into deliberation with no judgment date announced.
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MAY 6, 2026HEARINGVenezuela’s agent rejects ICJ jurisdiction during oral argumentVenezuela’s agent Samuel Moncada told the Court Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo was non-negotiable and reiterated Venezuela’s historic objection to compulsory jurisdiction.
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MAY 4, 2026HEARINGMerits hearings open at the Peace PalaceGuyana opened oral argument asking the Court to affirm the 1899 Award’s validity and reject Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo. Hearings ran through 11 May 2026 with both parties presenting two rounds of argument.
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MAY 1, 2025OTHERSecond provisional measures order over planned elections in EssequiboThe Court ordered Venezuela to refrain from conducting or preparing elections in the disputed territory, reaffirming its 2023 order, after Venezuela scheduled elections there for 25 May 2025.
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DEC 1, 2023OTHERFirst provisional measures order against Venezuela’s referendum plansThe Court ordered Venezuela to refrain from acts that would alter the status quo in the disputed territory, in response to Venezuela’s planned consultative referendum on Essequibo.
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APR 6, 2023JUDGMENTCourt rejects Venezuela’s admissibility objectionBy a 14-1 majority the Court rejected Venezuela’s objection, clearing the way for merits briefing.
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JUN 7, 2022PROCEDURALVenezuela raises preliminary objection to admissibilityVenezuela argued the United Kingdom was an indispensable third party, so the Court should decline jurisdiction over the merits.
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DEC 18, 2020JUDGMENTCourt finds it has jurisdiction over the validity of the 1899 AwardBy 12 votes to 4, the Court found it had jurisdiction to hear Guyana’s claim on the validity of the 1899 Award and the definitive settlement of the land boundary, but not over claims arising from events after the Geneva Agreement.
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JUN 30, 2020HEARINGPublic hearing on jurisdiction held by video linkThe Court heard argument on jurisdiction. Venezuela did not participate in the hearing.
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MAR 29, 2018FILINGGuyana files application instituting proceedingsGuyana asked the ICJ to confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Arbitral Award fixing the boundary with Venezuela.