Venezuela is bound to its constitution which speaks to adjusting its territory via arbitral award – Rare Admiral Gary Best

Nov 25, 2023 News

---

Kaieteur News – Venezuela’s Constitution provides for its territory to be adjusted via the 1899 Arbitral Award, former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Chief-of-Staff, Rare Admiral Dr. Gary Best said on Friday.

Venezuela has claimed the Esssequibo Region noting that the 1899 Arbitral Award was “null and void”. Notwithstanding that claim, Dr. Best at a press conference held by the Leader of the Opposition, underscored that Article 10 of Venezuela’s Constitution specifically outlines the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela, subject to the Arbitral Award.

The historical context of Venezuela’s claim dates to 1962 when, as British Guiana neared independence, the Spanish-speaking country contested the Essequibo territory, sparking a protracted dispute. In response, Guyana initiated proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2018, seeking resolution.

“Article 10 of the Venezuela Constitution describes the Venezuelan boundary between Guyana and itself and that description of the boundary is subject to arbitral awards that are not nullity. So, Venezuela constitution itself provides for its territory to be adjusted via an arbitral award which happened in 1899, in 1899 there was an arbitral award and Venezuela constitution article 10, (so) Venezuela is bound by that,” Dr. Best reminded.

According to Chapter I of Venezuela’s Constitution: Territory and Other Geographical Spaces Article 10, “The territory and other geographical spaces of the Republic are those which belonged to the Captaincy-General of Venezuela before the political transformation begun on April 19, 1810, as amended by virtue of the treaties and arbitration awards which have not been vitiated with nullity.”

Moreover, the Opposition member said too, “Secondly, Venezuela comprises of 23 states none of which is Essequibo.”

Concluding, Dr. Best asserted that the ICJ proceedings solely focus on validating the 1899 Arbitral Award, reaffirming the importance of understanding Venezuela’s constitutional commitment to this historical resolution. To this end, he said, “So I think Guyanese needs to understand that Venezuelan own constitution provides for the 1899 Arbitral Award, and it only has 23 states.”

Notably, the Government of Guyana has stressed that the ongoing border controversy with Venezuela will be resolved peacefully at the ICJ. In the meantime, Guyana is currently awaiting the ruling of the ICJ on its request for provisional measures that would block questions relating to the annexation of the Essequibo territory in the upcoming December 3 referendum by the Venezuelan government.

FACTS ON THE BORDER CONTROVERSY

In the second half of the nineteenth century, a dispute regarding the location of the boundary between Venezuela and the then-British colony of British Guiana arose. The United States took Venezuela’s side in the dispute, based on its “Monroe Doctrine”, by which it opposed territorial claims by European colonial powers in the Americas. Tensions rose to such a level that the United States even threatened war against Britain, but diplomacy prevailed. Facilitated by the United States, in 1897, Venezuela and Great Britain concluded an agreement — the Treaty of Washington — by which they agreed to submit the dispute regarding the location of the boundary to binding arbitration (“the 1899 Arbitration” or “the Arbitration”) before a tribunal of eminent jurists, including the heads of the judiciary of the United States and Great Britain (“the Arbitrators”, “the Arbitral Tribunal” or “the Tribunal”).

On 3 October 1899, the Arbitral Tribunal delivered its Award, which determined the boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana (“the 1899 Award”). The 1899 Award was the culmination of arbitral proceedings during which the respective territorial claims of Great Britain and Venezuela were addressed at great length and in detail by distinguished legal counsel representing the two States, including through many thousands of pages of written submissions and more than 200 hours of oral hearings before the Arbitral Tribunal.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Washington, Great Britain and Venezuela agreed that they would “consider the result of the proceedings of the Tribunal of Arbitration as a full, perfect, and final settlement” of all matters referred to the Tribunal.

For more than six decades after the 1899 Award was delivered, Venezuela treated the Award as a final settlement of the matter: it consistently recognised, affirmed and relied upon the 1899 Award as “a full, perfect, and final” determination of the boundary with British Guiana. In particular, between 1900 and 1905, Venezuela participated in a joint demarcation of the boundary, in strict adherence to the letter of the 1899 Award, and emphatically refused to countenance even minor technical modifications of the boundary line described in the Award.

Venezuela proceeded to formally ratify the demarcated boundary in its domestic law and thereafter published official maps, which depicted the boundary following the line described in the 1899 Award.

In July 1928, Venezuela concluded a boundary agreement with Brazil that expressly confirmed the tri-junction point of the boundaries of British Guiana, Venezuela and Brazil as described in the 1899 Award.

For more than sixty years, Venezuela gave full effect to that Award, and never raised a concern as to its validity and binding legal effects.

---

• controversy, Essequibo, Gary Best, ICJ, Venezuela

---