Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the Government intends to lodge a declaration of intervention in the case before the International Criminal Court taken by South Africa concerning the application on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip against Israel. [27493/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As I set out in response to a similar question from the Deputy last month, the Government intends to file a Declaration of Intervention in the case initiated by South Africa against Israel under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice after South Africa has filed its Memorial.

South Africa initiated its ICJ case by filing an Application with that Court on 29 December 2023. South Africa also sought a number of Provisional Measures pending the outcome of the case. A contentious case before the ICJ proceeds by way of an exchange of written pleadings, beginning with the filing of a detailed Memorial by the Applicant state, before oral hearings on the substantive issues can take place.

On 5 April, the ICJ made an Order setting time-limits for the filing of written pleadings by the parties. It fixed 28 October 2024 for South Africa to file its Memorial, and 28 July 2025 for Israel to file its Counter-Memorial. It remains our intention to seek to intervene in this case under Article 63 of the Statute of the ICJ after South Africa has filed its Memorial. This will, therefore, be towards the end of 2024.

It is important to note that by making a declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, states do not ‘join’ one side or another in the case; rather, they submit a statement that sets out their interpretation of one or more provisions of whatever Convention is at issue before the Court. This Declaration of Intervention must then be deemed admissible by the Court. Waiting until South Africa has filed its Memorial will ensure that we have a good understanding of what provisions of the Genocide Convention South Africa intends to rely on, which we can then in turn address, making it more likely that the Court will deem our intervention admissible.