Guatemala Applies to Join in I.C.J Proceedings over Sapodillas

Eamon Courtenay

The Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute that is before the I.C.J. will likely take longer than anticipated, since Guatemala has applied for permission to join the portion of the proceedings between Belize and Honduras that will determine sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes. In November 2022, Belize instituted proceedings on the matter with Honduras, which also has a claim on the islands. In a press release from the I.C.J., the court states that in these proceedings, Belize’s request of the Court is to declare that it has sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes. But Guatemala believes that Belize’s submission in the Belize verses Honduras case overlaps with its submissions in the Belize-Guatemala dispute. In its application for permission to intervene, Guatemala contends that it has “a clear interest of a legal nature [in the Belize verses Honduras case since…it has a longstanding claim of sovereignty over the Sapodillas, which is part of the subject-matter of the pending Guatemala/Belize case before the Court”.  Today, Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay told News Five that Guatemala’s inclusion in the round of presentations would not put that country at any advantage over us.

Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“The situation is that We had anticipated that Guatemala would apply to be joined. At present, the application is being considered by our legal advisors and we expect that they will advise us what to do. It’s an application to join so the court has to take a decision whether they will allow Guatemala to join or not. But it overlaps with the main case and so there is nothing new or strange about this. It’s for the court to determine, but it will take place sometime next year for the court to decide, one way or another, whether they will allow Guatemala to join.”