ABSTRACT
Legally, Guyana's position is by far the stronger one, and, as will be seen later, Venezuela is hoping for a "practical" rather than a strictly legal settlement of the dispute. There are two preliminary questions that must be addressed before looking at the grounds for nullity: the first concerns the binding nature of the award, and the second Venezuelan acceptance of the award before 1962. The principle of res judicata is subject to certain qualifications, and thus Venezuela was not prohibited by the arbitration treaty from snvoking the nullity of the award. Whatever the reason for Venezuelan concurrence in the demarcation, it is the very fact of the concurrence that in international law creates the effect of estoppel. Fraud may consist of deceit in the presentation of a case to the tribunal, and the Venezuelans also allege that the maps presented before the tribunal by Great Britain were tampered with beforehand in the Colonial Office.
