ICJ Statute gives right to Türkiye to intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel

By Selman Aksunger

THE HAGUE (AA) - Article 63 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gives right to Türkiye to intervene in the genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan previously said: "As Türkiye, we decided to intervene in the case filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice."

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Articles that allow intervention

States can intervene in a case filed before the ICJ through two articles.

Article 63 of the ICJ Statute gives states the right to intervene when it comes to interpreting conventions to which they are party and even if they are not parties to the dispute.

"Should a state consider that it has an interest of a legal nature which may be affected by the decision in the case, it may submit a request to the Court to be permitted to intervene," Article 62 of the statute of the court says.

Nicaragua had stated that it would intervene in the case filed by South Africa within the scope of Article 62 of the Statute of the Court.

Secondly, in the request for intervention in accordance with Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, the opportunity to make a general statement regarding how the contract in dispute should be interpreted, rather than the concrete event in dispute.

Accordingly, if Türkiye's application for intervention is accepted, it will be able to make statements on how the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, which forms the basis for South Africa's case, should be interpreted.

When Türkiye takes this step, it will be the first country among the members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to intervene in the case filed by South Africa at the ICJ against Israel, which it accuses of genocide in Gaza.

In accordance with the second paragraph of Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, it is reported that the interpretation of the Genocide Convention made by the Court in its decision will be binding on the countries that are parties to the case as well as the countries that are involved in the case.

It is noteworthy that the binding issue in question is only about how the Genocide Convention will be interpreted, and that it does not constitute a basis for filing any lawsuit in the future in terms of current or historical events that concern Türkiye.

The ICJ announced that Colombia has filed a declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the Statute of the Court.

In addition, it was reported in the press that countries such as Ireland, Belgium, Jordan and Libya were also evaluating the possibilities of involvement in the case against Israel.

In the genocide case between Ukraine and Russia, the court accepted the applications of 32 of the 33 states, excluding the US, that applied for "intervention" within the scope of Article 63.

The court continues its examination of the request of seven states requesting "intervention" within the scope of Article 63 in a similar case between Gambia and Myanmar.