Fourteen countries have announced their intention to intervene in the context of South Africa’s complaint, which accuses Israel of “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The interveners do not formally join a party or a complaint, but simply present their position on the law (and, in some cases, the facts) without formally taking sides.
The latest to do so is Bolivia on 9 October, following Chile and Maldives. Spain has been in June the third European country to make this announcement after Belgium and Ireland. South Africa filed its complaint on 29 December, 2023, with the ICJ, the United Nations court responsible for resolving disputes between states. Pretoria accuses Israel of violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in its military assault on Gaza.
The offensive has destroyed large parts of the Palestinian enclave, killed more than 43,000 civilians, and led to massive population displacements. The lack of access to international humanitarian aid is also causing famine to threaten Gaza, according to UN reports. On 24 May, the Court ordered Israel to “immediately cease its military offensive” in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. So far, Israel has not complied with this decision.
Bolivia joins 13 other countries in international justice
Bolivia thus joins 13 other countries that have announced or filed a “declaration of intervention” in the case before the ICJ. Among them, Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, Libya, and Palestine have filed an official request and are awaiting approval from the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Spain formally joined these five countries on June 28, submitting its declaration of intervention to the ICJ.
Others have taken a political stance by announcing their intention to participate in the trial to support South Africa, such as Belgium, Egypt, Ireland, and Cuba.
- Nicaragua: intervention request submitted on 8 February, 2024
- Belgium: intention declared on 11 March
- Ireland: intention declared on 27 March
- Colombia: intervention request submitted on 5 April
- Libya: intervention request submitted on 10 May
- Egypt: intention declared on 12 May
- Cuba: intention declared on 22 June
- Mexico: intervention request submitted on 28 May
- Palestine: intervention request submitted on 3 June
- Spain: intervention request submitted on 28 June
- Türkiye: intervention request submitted on 7 August
- Chile: intervention request submitted on 13 September
- Maldives: intervention request submitted on 2 October
- Bolivia: intervention request submitted on 9 October
Intervention in the case by other parties: how does it work?
Two forms of intervention are possible under the Court’s Statute, as set out in Article 62 and Article 63. If a country other than the original parties has an interest of a legal nature for a given case, it can request to participate under Article 62 of the Statute of the Court. If the Court grants the request, it becomes a party to the case. So far, Nicaragua and Palestine have requested permission to intervene under Article 62 of the Statute of the Court in the case South Africa v. Israel.
The other form of intervention is linked to Article 63 of the Court’s Statute, regarding the “construction of a convention to which States other than those concerned in the case are parties is in question” (in this case the Genocide Convention). Any State that has signed and ratified the Convention, has the right to intervene in the proceedings. If a State uses this right under Article 63, the judgment of the Court will be equally binding to them. Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine and Spain filed declarations of intervention under Article 63.
In its declaration submitted to the ICJ, Colombia is for instance stating that the Genocide Convention is “a cardinal instrument of international law” and is contending that the case “raises vital issues concerning the interpretation and application of several provisions of the Genocide Convention”.
In accordance with Article 83 of the Rules of Court, South Africa and Israel have been invited to provide written observations on these declarations of intervention. The ICJ has not granted any of the requests so far.
