Guyana’s government said it expects the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue a final ruling as early as November in its territory case with Venezuela over the Essequibo region.
In a statement on Friday, the government said the case was now fully before the United Nations’ top court following the conclusion of oral hearings on May 11 in The Hague.
“All that remains now is for the Court itself to deliberate, draft its final Judgment, and issue it in a public session,” the government said.
ICJ rulings are typically issued six to eight months after oral hearings conclude, suggesting a judgment could come between November 2026 and January 2027, the government said in the release published by the Department of Public Information.
The case stems from Venezuela’s challenge to the validity of an 1899 Arbitral Award that established the boundary between the two countries and awarded the Essequibo region to then-British Guiana. Venezuela has long argued the award was invalid and claims sovereignty over the territory, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass.
Guyana asked the court in 2018 to affirm the validity of the 1899 award and the boundary it established. Venezuela initially challenged the court’s jurisdiction, but the ICJ ruled in 2020 that it had authority to hear the case. A subsequent Venezuela objection was dismissed in 2023.
The court has twice granted provisional measures requested by Guyana. In December 2023, it ordered Venezuela to refrain from taking actions that would alter the status quo in the territory after Caracas announced a referendum related to its claim. In May 2025, the court ordered Venezuela not to conduct or prepare elections in the area after Venezuelan authorities announced plans for elections in a proposed state called “Guayana Esequiba.”
Guyana said it remained confident that the court would uphold the legal validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and confirm the international boundary recognized by most countries.
“After the oral hearings last month, Guyana is more confident than ever” of a favourable outcome, the government said.
The government described the completion of the proceedings as a victory for international law and said disputes between states should be resolved peacefully through legal mechanisms rather than threats or the use of force.
Whatever the outcome, the final judgment will be legally binding on both countries under the United Nations Charter and the statute of the ICJ, the government said.
