The Essequibo is Venezuelan: Venezuela's strategic litigation against Guyana in the International Court of Justice

• Jesús E. Caldera Ynfante Universidad Católica de Colombia

Keywords: Venezuela, Guyana, Arbitration Award of 1899, Geneva Agreement of 1966, International Court of Justice.

Abstract

The concept of international strategic litigation for Venezuela´s defense against the 2018 lawsuit of Guyana in the International Court of Justice-ICJ is analyzed. There, the agreements sustained by both countries in Article IV of the 1966 Geneva Agreement are evaded, and the Paris Arbitration Award of 1899, invalidated by the parties by mutual agreement, attempts to be validated. Since the bilateral avenues to settle the conflict have not been exhausted, this lawsuit is inadmissible because the ICJ is incompetent, since it ignores the terms of the Geneva agreement. The desirability of a peaceful, practical and satisfactory settlement for both sides is emphasized.