Guyana has submitted its final written brief on the border case to the International Court of Justice as the Court continues to hear the matter that was filed by Guyana against Venezuela.

The brief was submitted to the Court’s Registrar by Guyana’s Ambassador in Brussels, Sasenarine Singh.

The case was filed in March 2018 following the determination by the United Nations Secretary General that he had chosen the International Court of Justice as the means to be used for the solution of the controversy between the two countries.

Guyana is seeking the Court’s confirmation that the 1899 Arbitral Award which determined the international boundary with Venezuela is legally valid and remains binding on both States as a matter of international law.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said although Venezuela recognized the validity of the Award and accepted the boundary for more than 60 years, it changed position on the eve of Guyana’s independence, rejected the Award and asserted a claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s territory in the Essequibo Region.

Venezuela had previously sought to have the case dismissed by the Court, filing two separate objections to its jurisdiction, in 2019 and 2022. The Court has rejected Venezuela’s objections, and in December 2023, in response to Guyana’s request brought on by Venezuela’s threat to seize and annex Guyana’s territory, the Court ordered the parties to refrain from any actions to disturb Guyana’s administration and control of that territory pending the conclusion of the case.

Guyana’s Memorial on the case was submitted in April 2023, while Venezuela submitted its Counter-Memorial one year later.

Guyana’s Reply, which was filed today has responded to Venezuela’s brief, and Venezuela will now have the opportunity to respond to Guyana’s Reply with its Rejoinder, which is due on 8 August 2025.

The Court will in due course set a date for oral hearings. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said Guyana welcomes Venezuela’s engagement in the merits phase of the case.

The Government of Guyana has said it is fully confident that it has shown, in its Reply, that Venezuela’s challenges to the Arbitral Award and the international boundary, as set forth in its Counter-Memorial, are entirely without merit, and that the Court will ultimately confirm the validity, finality and legally binding nature of both the Award and the boundary.

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