The International Court of Justice announced last night that Cuba had filed with the court’s registry, based on Article 63 of the court’s statute, a declaration of intervention in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip, known as South Africa v. Israel.
According to Article 63 of the court’s statute, whenever there is doubt about the interpretation of a convention to which states other than the states concerned in the case are parties, each of these states has the right to intervene in the proceedings, and in this case, the interpretation given by the court’s ruling is equally binding on them.
The court explained that “in availing itself of the right of intervention granted by Article 63, Cuba relies on its status as a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948,” noting that Cuba “will, in its declaration, give its interpretation of Articles I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII and IX of the Convention.”
According to Article 83 of the court’s rules, South Africa and Israel were invited to submit written observations on the Cuban declaration of intervention.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel on charges of genocide, and several countries joined the case, including Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, Turkey and Ireland.
