THE GUAYANA ESEQUIBA CONFLICT: KEY HISTORICAL FRAMEWORKS AND LEGAL ISSUES

NIKOLIĆ Aleksa (Aleksa Nikolić, Master Student at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade), aleksanikolic.pravni@gmail.com

For many centuries South America was a place of great powers clash. After decolonization, many South American states established the uti possidetis principle based on which they grounded their frontiers. The case of Guyana Essequibo is an example of breaking this principle and international law. The question of Guayana Esequiba is the subject of a territorial dispute between Great Britain and British Guiana on one side, and Venezuela on another. In this regard, this work is divided into four chapters. In the introduction author deals with historical issues related to this territory, or analysis of the uti possidetis principle implementation. In the second chapter are emphasised the British claims to this territory expressed through the introduction of so-called Schomburgk line. The third chapter deals with the legal analysis of The Arbitral Award of Paris. The author points out that it was a crucial political argument rather than a legal one. The fourth chapter analyses the Geneva Agreement, or its non-implementation. At the end, the author emphasises the important role of multinational corporations for (un)solving of this problem.

Keywords: Guayana Esequiba, Venezuela, Great Britain, The Arbitral Award of Paris, Geneva Agreement