ICJ to begin oral hearings on Guyana–Venezuela border case on May 4

Feb 07, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has announced that oral arguments in the Guyana–Venezuela border controversy before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will commence on May 4, 2026.

The announcement was made on Friday during his contribution to the National Budget debates.

Attorney General Nandlall disclosed that Guyana has already filed two written pleadings on the merits of the case, while Venezuela has also submitted two pleadings, the most recent of which was filed in August 2025.

While outlining developments within the legal system, Nandlall stated that the Attorney General’s Chambers, in coordination with the Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is actively preparing Guyana’s legal team and materials for the upcoming ICJ hearing concerning the 1899 Arbitral Award.

ICJ to begin oral hearings on Guyana–Venezuela border case on May 4

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC

“I am pleased to inform this house that on January 27, 2026, all parties to the case were notified by the court that the hearing on the merits will open on Monday, May 4, 2026. A detailed schedule for the hearings will be communicated shortly,” Nandlall said.

Guyana instituted the case in March 2018, following a determination by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres that the International Court of Justice was the appropriate mechanism for resolving the longstanding controversy between the two countries.

Guyana is seeking the court’s confirmation that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the international boundary between Guyana and Venezuela, is legally valid and remains binding on both states under international law.

Although Venezuela recognised the validity of the Award and accepted the established boundary for more than 60 years, it reversed its position on the eve of Guyana’s independence, rejected the Award, and asserted a claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, encompassing the Essequibo Region.

Venezuela previously sought to have the case dismissed, filing two objections to the court’s jurisdiction in 2019 and 2022, respectively. Both objections were rejected by the Court by overwhelming majorities.

In December 2023, following Guyana’s request prompted by Venezuela’s threats to seize and annex Guyana’s territory, the ICJ ordered both parties to refrain from any actions that could disturb Guyana’s administration and control of the disputed territory while the case remains pending.

In a subsequent statement, the Government of Guyana expressed full confidence that it has demonstrated in its Reply that Venezuela’s challenges to the Arbitral Award and the international boundary—outlined in its Counter-Memorial—are entirely without merit, and that the Court will ultimately affirm the validity, finality, and legally binding nature of both the Award and the established boundary.

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Anil Nandlall, Guyana/Venezuela border, ICJ, national budget debates

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