Venezuela will never accept any judicial settlement of the border controversy – Delcy Rodríguez tells ICJ

In closing arguments on Monday, Venezuela again rejected the International Court of Justice’s authority to settle the decades-old border controversy with Guyana, a defiant move given that the ICJ has already ruled that it has the authority to do so.

The statement comes even as Guyana continues to press for a definitive legal ruling affirming the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that established the boundary and left Essequibo under Guyanese administration for more than a century.

Closing Venezuela’s presentation was interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who was the final speaker of the day and stood just feet away from Guyana’s delegation, headed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall.

Rodríguez appeared before the court wearing a brooch depicting Venezuela’s claim to Guyana’s Essequibo region.

But while Venezuela argued that the controversy must be resolved politically under the 1966 Geneva Agreement, Guyana’s case before the court is fundamentally different.

Guyana has asked the ICJ for a clear legal determination that the 1899 Arbitral Award is valid and binding, and that the land boundary between the two South American neighbours was legally settled more than a century ago.

Rodríguez made clear Venezuela would not recognise any judgment issued by the court.

“Venezuela will never endorse a violation of the Geneva Agreement and international law,” she declared near the close of her roughly 30-minute address. “There is no legal way of recognising a decision resulting from this process, whatever that may be.”

That position sharply contrasts with Guyana’s approach. Guyana maintains that both countries are bound by the authority of the ICJ after then UN Secretary-General António Guterres referred the matter to the court in 2018 under the dispute-resolution mechanism outlined in the Geneva Agreement. The ICJ itself has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter.

Last week, Guyana urged the court to uphold the validity of the 1899 award, arguing that the boundary was lawfully determined and internationally recognised for decades before Venezuela formally revived its objections in the 1960s.

Throughout Monday’s hearing, Rodríguez repeatedly insisted Venezuela does not recognise the court’s jurisdiction, even while continuing to participate in proceedings.

“This does not imply in any way recognition of the court’s jurisdiction in the territorial controversy,” she said.

Guyana, however, has consistently argued that the court itself already settled the jurisdiction issue in earlier rulings and that the current phase of proceedings concerns the merits of the case, specifically whether the 1899 award legally fixed the border.

Rodríguez framed Venezuela’s argument around the Geneva Agreement, saying the treaty requires direct negotiation rather than judicial settlement.

“The controversy does not concern the confirmation nor invalidation of an award,” she argued. “The method is negotiation, not imposition.”

But Guyana’s team of lawyers, politicians and public servants have argued that years of negotiations, UN-led good offices processes and diplomatic engagement failed to resolve the issue, making judicial settlement the appropriate and lawful next step.

Venezuela also attempted to link Guyana’s decision to approach the court with major offshore oil discoveries made in 2015, alleging that Guyana abandoned negotiations after oil reserves were found offshore in territory internationally recognised as Guyanese.

Rodríguez accused Guyana of pursuing “an unlawful strategy of judicialisation” aimed at validating what she called a “fraudulent award.”

Guyana rejects that claim and maintains that the 1899 Arbitral Award was a full, final and binding settlement accepted internationally for decades, during which Guyana continuously administered the Essequibo region through British Guiana and later as an independent state after 1966.

Essequibo comprises roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass and has remained under Guyanese administration for generations, with Guyanese laws, governance systems, schools, elections and public institutions operating throughout the territory.

In one of the more striking moments of her presentation, Rodríguez warned that even a ruling by the ICJ would not resolve the dispute.

“Such judgment may conclude the case, but it will not put an end to the territorial dispute,” she said.

Guyana’s legal team, by contrast, has argued that a final ruling from the world court is necessary precisely to bring legal certainty and stability to the controversy.

Rodríguez also accused Guyana of trying to “erase” Venezuela’s historical narrative, claiming the court was being asked to “prohibit the teaching of history” and “tear Essequibo from the hearts of Venezuelans.”

But Guyana’s submissions before the court have focused primarily on the legality of the arbitral process and the long-standing international acceptance of the existing boundary, rather than questions of Venezuelan national identity.

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