While reiterating its rejection of the referral of its border controversy with Guyana to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for adjudication, which it has dubbed “unenforceable,” Venezuela has proposed that the two countries restart diplomatic contacts to reach a resolution.
Last Thursday, Guyana filed an application with the ICJ to confirm the validity and binding effect of the Arbitral Award of 1899 on boundary between the two countries, following the decision by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to choose the ICJ as the next means of resolving the controversy, which stems from Venezuela’s contention that the award was null and void.
But in a statement issued on Friday, Venezuela’s Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs stated that Guyana’s resort to a judicial settlement is both “unacceptable” and “unenforceable” and it noted that it does not recognise the jurisdiction of the court as binding.
