World Court receives evidence Venezuela consistently recognised1899 boundary settlement

Last Updated on Monday, 4 May 2026, 11:09 by Denis Chabrol

Guyana on Monday presented concrete documentary evidence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Venezuela had for more than 60 years accepted the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award of the land boundary, and never registered any objections.

“The evidence is resoundingly clear that from the very instant when the 1899 award was delivered some 127 years ago, until 1962 Venezuela constantly accepted, recognized, complied with and insisted on strictly following the award.

It was well aware of any possible grounds for challenging the award, as much as Venezuela now denies this. Its officials repeatedly expressed their satisfaction and depicted the outcome as a victory, having gained the most valuable part of the disputed territory, the mouth of the Orinoco River,” Professor Nilufer Oral told the ICJ during day one of hearings on the merits of the case.

Ms Oral,  who is the Director of the Centre of International Law at the National University of Singapore, backed up her presentation with several official maps of Venezuela, official correspondence and statements by top Venezuelan officials.

In making out her case that there is overwhelming evidence that between 1899 and 1962 Venezuela accepted and recognized the legal validity of the arbitration award, she reflected on the fact that Venezuela had insisted that one of the boundary markers be replaced at the exact location after it was removed by a force of nature. She told the judges that Venezuela insisted that the award be implemented to the letter, and no matter how minor, refused to accept any alterations to the boundary as determined by the award. Reference was also made to the Protocol between Brazil and Venezuela respecting the Demarcation of the Frontier, Ratification exchanged at Rio de Janeiro 31 Aug. 1929 which states that “the frontier between the two countries should be clearly defined, from the island of Sao Jose to a point on Mount Roraima where the frontiers of Brazil, Venezuela and British Guiana meet.”

She told the United Nations highest judicial body that several Venezuelan pronouncements showed that that country had relished the fact that it had been awarded the mouth of the Orinoco River.

Among her references is that the 1948 United States of Venezuela Organic Federal Territorial Law states that the “The Delta Amacuro Federal Territory” of Venezuela “is formed by the region found within the following boundaries: the Gulf of Paria and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean and British Guyana to the east, as defined by the Border Treaty between Venezuela and Great Britain.”

The International Law Professor also produced a map that Venezuela submitted to the United Nations and reflected Guyana as demarcated by the 1899 land boundary award. Concerning the boundary demarcation, Dr Oral questioned how could Venezuela now argue with any credibility that it was forced to engage in the boundary demarcation against its will between 1900 and 1905  in the joint Venezuela British Boundary Commission that was engaged in the demarcation of the 825 kilometer boundary. She said during that time, there was not a single utterance from Venezuela expressing any objection, reservation or concern about the boundary being demarcated to the contrary. According to the expert, the Venezuelan members of the Joint Boundary Commission who reported directly to the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, worked with great commitment and meticulous care to comply with the 1899 award when the work of the joint Boundary Commission ended