Guatemala Makes Final Pitch to Join Sapodilla Cayes Case at the ICJ

Guatemala on Wednesday urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to allow it to intervene in the ongoing case between Belize and Honduras over sovereignty of the Sapodilla Cayes, arguing that its own long-standing claim to the territory could be affected by the eventual ruling.

The morning session, held at the Peace Palace in The Hague and presided over by ICJ President Judge Iwasawa, wrapped up Guatemala’s second round of oral arguments on its request to intervene under Article 62 of the Court’s Statute.

Guatemala: Our Legal Interests Are at Stake

Appearing for Guatemala, Sir Michael Wood said the country’s application “is straightforward,” noting that Guatemala “also claims sovereignty over those cays,” and that a ruling in favour of either Belize or Honduras “would in practice most certainly affect, and very possibly prejudice, Guatemala’s legal interests.”

He dismissed Honduras’s repeated criticisms of Guatemala’s request, calling the objections “largely unsupported by legal reasoning and very repetitive.” He said that the case is “a textbook example” of when Article 62 applies.

Wood stressed that Guatemala is not trying to introduce a new dispute with Honduras or relitigate its existing dispute with Belize. “Guatemala does not seek to create a dispute with Honduras, or to introduce new claims,” he said. Instead, the country simply wants the opportunity “to protect an interest of a legal nature: its claim to sovereignty over the cays.”

Honduras’s Objections: ‘Irrelevant,’ Says Guatemala

Honduras argued earlier this week that Guatemala’s intervention is unnecessary because the Court is already dealing with Guatemala’s territorial case against Belize. But Wood said this position “is irrelevant,” because what matters is whether the conditions of Article 62 are met.

He added that Honduras had failed to demonstrate the “exceptional circumstances” needed to claim abuse of process, quoting the Court’s recent advisory opinion that such circumstances are extremely rare.

Guatemala also pushed back against Honduras’s claim that Article 59, which prevents ICJ rulings from binding third states, provides enough protection. Wood countered, “A judgment can affect the legal interest of a State without being binding on it,” adding that Article 62 exists precisely for that reason.

New Claims Raise New Concerns

Guatemala said the Belize-Honduras case has introduced “a new dimension” to the long-running Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute, particularly because Honduras’s claim over the Sapodilla Cayes “did not arise” during the decades-long Guatemala-Belize proceedings.

The country argued that it needs to respond to new documents and new legal arguments now on the Court’s record. “Guatemala must be able to address this new development,” Wood said, explaining why it cannot rely solely on its submissions in the separate Belize-Guatemala case.

Agent of Guatemala: Intervention Helps the Court Too

Guatemala’s Agent, Ambassador Ana Cristina Rodríguez Pineda, closed the session by stressing that intervention would not only protect Guatemala but also help the Court reach a more accurate determination.

She told the judges that intervention allows the ICJ to have “a full picture of the claims of sovereignty of the three States and of the relevant documents,” and to receive “the views of a State that has claimed sovereignty over Cayos Zapotillos for more than two centuries.”

Rodríguez Pineda rejected Honduras’s suggestion that Guatemala is already “amply heard” because of its participation in the Belize-Guatemala case. She explained that Belize’s filing of the separate claim against Honduras shortly before Guatemala submitted its reply “was a new development,” leaving Guatemala no proper venue to address those issues.

She added, “Intervening under Article 62 is the only mechanism available to Guatemala to explain its views… and to protect its interests of a legal nature in the dispute between Belize and Honduras.”

Guatemala’s Request to the Court

At the conclusion of her remarks, Rodríguez Pineda read Guatemala’s formal submission:

“The Republic of Guatemala respectfully requests the Court to permit it to intervene in the case concerning Sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes/Cayos Zapotillos (Belize v. Honduras) pursuant to Article 62 of the Statute.”

What Happens Next

The Court will continue hearings later today, when Belize and Honduras deliver their second round of arguments on whether Guatemala should be allowed into the case.