Former Guatemalan Official Reveals Scope of Guatemala’s Claim on Belize

Almost six years ago, Belize went to a referendum and agreed to take the territorial dispute with Guatemala to the International Court of Justice.  As the case of the dispute advances in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the precise scope of Guatemala’s claim remains largely unknown to the Belizean public.  This is due to the ICJ rules that do not allow Belize to disclose Guatemala’s pleadings under Article 53(2).  On December 8, 2020, when Belize received the official court submission by Guatemala, the government issued a release, stating, quote, “while it is constrained in what it can say by the ICJ Rules, the Ministry can reveal that Guatemala’s Memorial presents no surprises, no new claims that are different from those that have been made at different times in the past, which are well documented.”  End of quote. Yesterday, however, the former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Guatemala, Rodrigo Vielmann, revealed the scope of the claim being made on Belize at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).  He appeared on a talk show on Guatemala’s Canal Antigua, and offered a glimpse into the insular, territorial and maritime claims.  

“The plaintiff, Guatemala, presents an eight volume lawsuit, an impressive historical legal work and claims continental, insular and marine territory and it presents all the documented historical legal arguments as to why all this territory belongs to Guatemala. Our claim basically includes the Sibun River southward that is 50% of Belize territory. We claim the entire insular territory because the Belizean population or British Settlements have never historically titled to the entire insular territory what we know today as Belize’s Cayes even to the north and all the maritime territory that extends from the coast or the way maritime territories are defined. This is the entirety of Guatemala’s claim. Of course Belize answers the lawsuits and presents its arguments that is has possession, that is has received historically and with all it’s own arguments. So the courts procedure consists of a complaint, a defense to the complaint, a reply from Guatemala, and a counter reply from Belize. Thees four phases of written arguments have already been completed and at any moment today awaiting the announcement by the International Court of Justice for a date of what is called to oral argument phase.” 

The case at the ICJ, formally titled Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize), is still in progress at The Hague. Written pleadings are complete as Guatemala has filed its Memorial, Belize has responded with a Counter-Memorial, and Guatemala submitted a Rejoinder.  Oral hearings, where both sides will present arguments publicly, have not yet been scheduled. Meanwhile, the ICJ is preparing to hear a related matter in November 2025, when Guatemala seeks to intervene in the separate dispute between Belize and Honduras over the Sapodilla Cayes.