And, tonight, we have continuing coverage of our trip to the seat of the ICJ at the Hague. Many in the public have been speculating that if the case goes to the ICJ - Belize may win based on teh strength of the 1859 Treaty and the 1931 exchange of notes - but the judges would still give the Guatemalans something for their trouble. After, that would only seem fair - if they're claiming half or more of the country - to give them just a little something. We asked two professors of international law who are experts on the court about the concept of an equitable judgement - which would give the Guats something, but not everything they asked for. Jules Vasquez has the story:..
Jules Vasquez reporting
It's called the Peace Palace - the seat of the ICJ - but does this striving for peace mean that all parties have to leave this courtroom contented?
Dr. Eric de Brabandere, Director, Grotius Centre for Int'l Dispute Resolution
"So their end mission is dispute settle contributes to peace, but their objective is not to bring peace. Their objective is to settle disputes and the court takes a very technical and judicial approached to this. So they will really look at the law, apply the law and then they will not disregard the law, because peace dictates otherwise. So they will really apply the law. The court is composed of individuals. Some of them are from law professors, some of them are from diplomats, some of them are former judges - everyone has its own approached to certain cases and some of them are slightly more strict, probably on the positive law. Others have a bit more lenience towards effects of rules. But I wouldn't say to be honest, that the court by definition rules only and with the idea in mind that they need to find a balance between the right and obligations. I think we have had several cases where the court has made decisions that were really in favor of one state and not in favor of the other, without much compromise. In this case it's relatively black and white decisions. I mean the question is, is that the boundary or not? Does Guatemala title extends to have of your territory or not."
Giulia Pinzauti, former ICJ Law Clerk
"The court settles disputes in accordance with international law. So they are bound by international law. If international law says title takes precedence over or acting as a sovereign. They will look at who has title."
These experts believe that Guatemala's signing of the Special Agreement binds it to accept the judgement of the court:
Dr. Eric de Brabandere, Director, Grotius Centre for Int'l Dispute Resolution
"If you have other states or in this case an organization supporting a process of dispute settle, is also because they will probably stand by the state that is successful and you also see that if you have special agreement and there is also an instance of going to the court because 2 states agree, is very difficult to contest the outcome, because you have consented explicitly to have the dispute settled. The special agreement was also brokered by the involvement by other states right, which means that that they also will probably support the outcome."
But, what if Belize votes no? What about all those millions put towards a resolution by the Friends of Belize like the European Union and the US:
Dr. Eric de Brabandere, Director, Grotius Centre for Int'l Dispute Resolution
"If it's no, its no. What can I say? I can imagine that the EU and the US will not be happy, but there is no way to sort of saying we were heavily involved in trying to have this agreement if the populist says no. Its no. What can you say? We live in democracies."
And we live in a world where disputes are best settled here:
Dr. Eric de Brabandere, Director, Grotius Centre for Int'l Dispute Resolution
"Whether you agree not with the outcome, you have to accept that judges, especially the ICJ and the international` courts are fair tribunals in the sense that they could partial individual who apply the law."
Both professors teach international law at Leiden University - which is one of the oldest and most respected universities in Europe.
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