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And while the 42 page Vascianne report validates Belize's official position - what about Guatemala? All the opinions we have seen rubbish their case. So, do they know something we don't, or are they simply using the ICJ as the easiest way out of a thorny domestic situation? As Belize's man in Guatemala, we asked Ambassador Rosado:

H.E. Alexis Rosado, Belizean Ambassador to Guatemala
"Even for the Guatemalans I don't think that the findings of this legal opinion will surprise them, because they themselves have commissioned independent studies and legal studies on the matter and the studies that they have committed have reached similar conclusions."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"So then why would they go to court?"

H.E. Alexis Rosado
"The reason why anyone would want to go to court, on the Guatemalan side, they have heard our arguments. They have heard the views of the international lawyers, but their problem is according to them that their constitution constrains them from entertaining any notion in a negotiation to just drop their claim and recognized and respect our boundaries as we know them. So they need that 3rd party as well to do a solid interpretation of the law and to tell them this is what you have to respect and abide by."

We also asked Rosado about the Maritime Areas Act. Presently, Belize is only claiming 3 of its 12 miles of territorial waters between the Sarstoon River and the Ranguana Cayes. That concession was made in 1992 to make an opening for a negotiated settlement between Belize and Guatemala. But, nothing ever came out of those negotiations, so the advised position is that Belize should rescind the Maritime Areas Act and claim its entire 12 miles to enhance its position before the ICJ.

No less an authority than Assad Shoman has insisted that the time has long past for Belize to claim all its territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone off the Toledo District.

So what does government now say? We asked Rosado, as one of the top public officials dealing with this issue:

H.E. Alexis Rosado
"An important point to bear in mind in this case is that Belize has never relinquished any rights to the extent of its seas up to the median line. So where is in the south we claimed only 3 miles, we still reserve the rest of it as an exclusive economic zone. So we did not give anything away to Guatemala under our maritime areas act."

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Will that maritime areas act be revoked if and before we go to the ICJ?"

H.E. Alexis Rosado
"I think it is safe to say that if the Belizean people say yes that we should go to court, I think it is safe to assume that we will need to amend it, just so that we could declare our full extent."