[News] Venezuelan Gold Reserves: Caracas Protests ‘Astonishing’ Ruling in Favor of US-backed Guaidó

[Anti-Imperialist News]

venezuelanalysis.com <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15575>
Venezuelan Gold Reserves: Caracas Protests ‘Astonishing’ Ruling in Favor of
US-backed Guaidó
By Ricardo Vaz - July 30, 2022
------------------------------

Caracas, July 30, 2022 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan authorities have
blasted the latest court ruling in the struggle for control over 31 tonnes
of gold stored in the Bank of England (BoE).

On Friday, the High Court of England and Wales decided in favor of
opposition politician Juan Guaidó and dismissed a new effort by the
Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) to regain control over the reserves worth an
estimated US $1.7 billion.

Caracas had brought to court the Venezuelan Supreme Court decrees stating
that the parallel BCV board appointed by the US-backed opposition was
illegal. However, judge Sara Cockerill decreed that the British Court could
not recognize the rulings made by Venezuela’s highest judicial instance.

Since late 2018, the Bank of England has refused BCV requests to repatriate
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14139> the gold reserves. In January
2019, Guaidó proclaimed himself “interim president
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14244>” and garnered immediate support
from Washington.

The Trump administration proceeded to seize Venezuelan assets in the US and
place them under opposition control and pressured allies, including London,
to do likewise. Caracas found itself embroiled in legal battles for a
number of state assets held abroad, among them the gold deposited in the
BoE vaults.

The proceedings have gone through several British courts, with rulings
favoring one side or the other as well as a number of appeals. Amidst the
Covid-19 pandemic, the Nicolás Maduro government attempted to sell the
reserves via an agreement with the United Nations in order to bolster the
country’s healthcare system, but the effort was rebuffed
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14929>.

The Maduro administration secured a favorable judgment
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15014> in 2020 when the English Court of
Appeal called on the Boris Johnson government to “clarify” its recognition
of Guaidó. Nevertheless, the decision was later overturned
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15415> by the UK Supreme Court.

British judges have repeatedly fallen back on the “one voice” doctrine that
binds the judiciary to No. 10’s position. Cockerill reiterated
<https://www.law.com/international-edition/2022/07/29/uk-high-court-again-favors-venezuelan-opposition-in-2b-gold-case/>
on Friday that the doctrine is “the backdrop to this issue.”

The most recent legal argument from the BCV centered on the sovereignty of
the country’s highest judicial institution. Though Justice Cockerill
refused to uphold the illegality of the Guaidó-named board, she claimed
that the opposition’s attack on the Venezuelan Supreme Court’s alleged lack
of impartiality failed to meet “the hurdle of cogent evidence.”

Friday’s judgment did not grant the hardline opposition control over the
reserves, with proceedings due to resume in October in the UK’s Commercial
Court.

The BCV legal representation called the ruling “unfortunate” as courts
remain tied to the “recognition as a head of state a person with no
effective control or power over any part of that state.”

“This was an unprecedented case,” senior counsel Sarosh Zaiwalla commented.
“Another country’s highest court, interpreting its own constitution, held
Mr. Guaidó’s actions to be illegal.”

For its part, the Venezuelan Central Bank issued a statement
<https://twitter.com/BCV_ORG_VE/status/1553076838561349633> rejecting the
“astonishing dictum” by the British High Court.

“This ruling violates international law as well as Venezuela’s legal and
constitutional order in order to justify a criminal framework that allows
for the unlawful seizure of the country’s international reserves,” the text
read.

The Venezuelan government likewise reacted on Friday afternoon, with Vice
President Delcy Rodríguez criticizing the UK court system for “sticking to
the anachronistic ‘one voice’ doctrine.”

“I call on the British government to rectify its stance and go back to
following international law and the United Nations Charter,” she said in a
telephone interview on state broadcaster VTV. Rodríguez, who also serves as
finance minister, stated that the BCV will exhaust the appeals process and
take the case to international instances if needed.

In contrast, Washington-backed Guaidó welcomed the court decision, calling
it “another step to protect Venezuela’s international gold reserves.”
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