ICJ to Decide Guatemala Bid in Sapodilla Case

The Inter-national Court of Justice (ICJ) has finished three days of hearings on Guatemala’s bid to intervene in the sovereignty case between Belize and Honduras over the Sapodilla Cayes, a move that could reshape the Court’s handling of two parallel territorial disputes in the region. The hearings were held at the Peace Palace in The Hague from November 24 to 26.

Guatemala asked the Court for permission to participate as a non-party, arguing that its long-standing claim against Belize gives it an interest in the outcome of the Belize v. Honduras matter and that participation is necessary to protect what it alleges are legal rights connected to the Sapodillas.

Honduras challenged that position, stating that the ICJ’s Statute and procedural rules do not entitle Guatemala to intervention in this separate case. Its representatives maintained that allowing Guatemala in at this stage would introduce a new dispute and constitute an improper use of the intervention mechanism. Honduras argued that Guatemala already has adequate opportunity to raise any Sapodilla-related arguments within the ongoing Guatemala v. Belize case.

Belize focused its submissions on the Court’s responsibility to ensure orderly and timely administration of justice. Belize maintained that the two cases—Guatemala v. Belize and Belize v. Honduras—should proceed in a coordinated manner so that all outstanding territorial matters in the region can be resolved efficiently. Belize also emphasized that intervention is not automatic for non-parties and that any decision to allow Guatemala in must be grounded in the Court’s discretionary power, the governing rules, and the need to avoid unnecessary delays.

The Court will now deliberate privately before issuing its decision on Guatemala’s application.

The Sapodilla Cayes case was initiated by Belize on November 16, 2022, and concerns a small group of islands in southern Belize long administered by Belizean authorities. Guatemala filed for intervention almost a year later, on December 1, 2023. Meanwhile, Belize and Guatemala remain engaged in the larger territorial, insular, and maritime case that originated from the Special Agreement approved by both populations through national referenda and lodged before the ICJ in June 2019.

Belize’s delegation at the hearings included ICJ Agent H.E. Assad Shoman and members of Belize’s international legal team, along with officials from the Office of the Agent.