Guatemala is to reply by the end of the year.

By Marco Lopez 

BELIZE CITY, Mon. June 6, 2022 

The Government of Belize announced at the sitting of the House of Representatives on Friday that on June 3 the country submitted its Counter-Memorial to the Registrar of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in response to Guatemala’s territorial, insular and maritime claim—five days before the June 8 deadline for submission. The team from Belize was reportedly in England recently putting the final touches on this recent submission. In announcing this historic step, the Prime Minister, Hon. John Briceño, told the members of the House, “Our Counter-Memorial provides a strong defense to Guatemala’s Memorial or their claim and resolutely defends the sovereignty, the territorial integrity, and independence of Belize.”

Belize’s submission today marks a decisive step in a process that has dragged on since December 2008 when the Special Agreement was first agreed on by both countries. The ICJ, located in The Hague, Netherlands, acts as the judicial arm of the United Nations. The court became the official arbiter of the dispute in June 2019, with the submission of the Special Agreement and the accompanying Protocol. 

Subsequently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the court was forced to adjust the time limits at the request of the Guatemalan government and agreed to extend that country’s deadline for submission of its Memorial from June 8, 2020, to December 8, 2020. At the time, the agent from Belize stated to the court in a letter that two months would be a sufficient extension, in their view. Belize’s date of submission was then moved from June 8, 2021, to June 8, 2022.

Guatemala is due to submit its reply to Belize’s Counter-Memorial by or on December 8, 2022, exactly 6 months after our deadline date. Belize will have another six months to submit a rejoinder to Guatemala’s reply, with a deadline set for June 2023, before a date for oral arguments is set. 

The Prime Minister, in his remarks to the House, said, “June 3 is a historic day for Belize. I can report to this honorable House and to the Belizean people that earlier, Belize filed its Counter-Memorial at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.”

He also gave a snapshot of the timeline: “By this special agreement, Guatemala must submit its reply to Belize’s Counter-Memorial by December 3, 2022. Belize will have six months thereafter to deliver our rejoinder, so that by June 2023 we expect the written pleadings in the case to have closed. This, of course, assumes that there will be no further events or eventualities that might delay this case,” PM Briceño said. 

The COVID-19 pandemic, as mentioned, caused a delay in the process. The PM thus said that if there are no other interruptions in the process, a date as early as 2024 could be set for oral hearings. 

“Assuming that there is no further delay, the court will proceed to set a date for hearing, which I am advised can occur in 2024 if not before,” he said. 

At this time, only a few are privy to the details of Guatemala’s Memorial and Belize’s Counter-Memorial, since the court rules forbid any disclosures of the pleadings from either party. The Prime Minister reassured citizens, however, that a strong case has been submitted for Belize. 

“Belizeans can rest assured that a strong, clear, and powerful case has been made for all our territory, continental and insular, as well as the maritime areas as determined by international law,” PM Briceño said. 

In his remarks, the PM also called on the Guatemalan government to adhere to the agreed upon Confidence- Building Measures of 2005 and to prevent their citizens from engaging in illegal activity on Belize’s side of the border.

“We continue to appeal to Guatemala to adhere to the Confidence Building Measures in place since 2005, which requires, for example, our government, both governments, to clear the areas around the three reference markers at Gracias Adios, Garbutt Falls, and Aguas Turbias. The Guatemalan government also undertook to dissuade its citizens from crossing illegally into Belize. But, we continue to have problems with Guatemalans occupying Belize near the Western Border. Narco-trafficking continues to pose a security problem, while illegal logging, farming, pouching and mining continues to cause significant damage to our environment and wellbeing. Similarly, the Guatemalan government has refused to abide by repeated commitment to negotiate Confidence Building Measures regarding the Sarstoon River in defiance of appeals by international bodies. Again, we urge the government of Guatemala to put into effect its undertaking the agreed CBS for the Sarstoon,” the Prime Minister said.