ICJ Sets February, March 2027 Hearing Dates for Belize’s Territorial Cases

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has formally scheduled oral hearings for both of Belize’s ongoing territorial cases at The Hague, with hearings on Guatemala’s territorial claim set for February 2027 and hearings on sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes set for March 2027.

According to a letter dated September 17th from ICJ Registrar Santiago Villalpando, hearings in the case concerning Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim will open Monday, February 22nd, 2027, and run through Friday, February 26th. The schedule allocates two full days to Guatemala’s opening arguments, followed by two full days for Belize’s first-round arguments, and a final day split between second-round arguments from both parties.

A separate letter, also dated September 17th, confirms hearings will open the following week in the case concerning Sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes/Cayes Zapotillos, involving Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala as an intervening state. Those hearings are scheduled to run from Monday, March 1st through Friday, March 5th, 2027, opening with Belize’s first round of oral argument, followed by Honduras’s first round, oral observations from Guatemala regarding its intervention, and concluding with second-round arguments from both Belize and Honduras.

Both letters were addressed to Ambassador Assad Shoman, Agent of Belize before the ICJ, with Co-Agent Ambassador Alexis Rosado copied on each. The Court noted in both communications that the scheduled times represent the maximum allotted for each party to present its arguments, with further procedural details to be shared separately ahead of the hearings.

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