3 days ago
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set dates for oral hearings in Belize’s two major territorial cases. The hearings will take place one after the other at The Hague early next year.
The first case is Guatemala’s territorial, insular and maritime claim against Belize. Arguments will be heard from February 22 to 26, 2027. Just days later, Belize will return to court for its separate case against Honduras over ownership of the Sapodilla Cayes. Those hearings are set for March 1 to 5. Prime Minister John Briceño officially announced the dates yesterday. He also spoke about the work now being done by Belize’s legal team and said the Government expects the cases to finally settle any doubt over Belize’s land, islands and sea.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “The registrar of the International Court of Justice informed us that the court will receive oral presentations in the case between Guatemala and Belize from the 22nd to the 26th February, 2027. The court will then hear oral presentations in the Belize – Honduras case from the 1st to the 5th March, 2027. These hearings will take place at the Hague. My fellow Belizeans, independence and our sovereignty and territorial integrity are supremely national issues. Together with the opposition and all stakeholders, let us look confidently to the future. We will spare no resource. For too long, our borders have been disputed by our neighbors. In keeping with our commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for the rule of law, we have had recourse to the court. We are confident that all doubts will be removed by these two court cases. Belize will be vindicated. Belize has engaged a stellar team of international lawyers and experts to advise us and to present our case before the court. This team has worked diligently with ambassadors Assad Shoman and Alexis Rosado, our co-agents before the ICJ, and with Senator Eamon Courtenay and Michael Peyrefitte to settle our written pleadings. Their work will now focus exclusively on the oral presentations to be delivered next year. I am confident that team Belize will be fully prepared to present the strongest case as we seek legal confirmation that from the moment of our independence we have been and remain, sovereign over all our territory, land, islands, and sea. As we embark on the final phase of this long journey, we call on friendly countries to continue to support this process. We expect that our neighbors will proceed in peace and mutual respect and in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations. Above all, I renew Belize’s commitment to accept the decisions of the court and to work with Guatemala and Honduras to implement the court’s decisions.”
The Guatemala case has been decades in the making. Belize and Guatemala signed a Special Agreement in 2008 to take the dispute to the ICJ. Guatemala approved that move in a referendum in 2018, and Belize followed in 2019. The written arguments have since been filed, and the case is now entering the oral stage. The Sapodilla Cayes case followed in November 2022, when Belize asked the court to confirm its sovereignty over the southern group of cayes. Honduras also claims the area. Guatemala later asked to take part in that case because it believes the eventual ruling could affect its own interests. The court allowed Guatemala to intervene as a non-party, meaning it may present its position but does not become a third side in the Belize-Honduras dispute. The upcoming hearings will allow the lawyers to make their arguments directly before the judges and answer questions from the court. A ruling will not come during the hearings. The judges will deliberate afterward, and the decisions could take several months or longer.
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