ICJ sets Nov 14 to hear Guyana’s case to block Venezuela’s referendum on Essequibo

Last Updated on Friday, 3 November 2023, 13:02 by Denis Chabrol

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday said it would  hold public hearings on November 14 on Guyana’s efforts to block Venezuela’s referendum on December 3 that seeks a popular vote on annexing the county of Essequibo.

Guyana’s lawyers will make their arguments in the morning and Venezuela’s will do so in the afternoon.

Already, Venezuela has scoffed at Guyana’s move to the World Court on grounds that it does not recognise that judicial body to settle the controversy over the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land boundary between the two countries.

“The hearings will be devoted to the Request for the indication of provisional measures
submitted by Guyana on 30 October 2023,” the ICJ said.

In its Request, Guyana states that “on 23 October 2023, the Government of Venezuela, through its National Electoral Council, published a list of five questions that it plans to put before the Venezuelan people in a ‘Consultative Referendum’ on 3 December 2023”. According to the Applicant, the purpose of this referendum is “to obtain responses that would support Venezuela’s decision to abandon rhe current proceedings before the Court, and to resort instead to unilateral measures to ‘resolve’ the controversy with Guyana by
formally annexing and integrating into Venezuela all of the territory at issue in these proceedings, which comprises more than two-thirds of Guyana”