The International Court of Justice in The Hague
Comoros Becomes 14th Nation to Intervene in South Africa versus Israel Suit
The Hague: Comoros has become the 14th country to intervene in the International Court of Justice case concerning the Application of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). The island nation filed a declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute on 29 October 2025.
Article 63 is known as the “treaty club door.” Any country that signed the same treaty—the 1948 Genocide Convention, in this case—can simply file a declaration and join the proceedings. No permission is needed. The Court registers it, notifies the main parties, and the intervener gets to submit written views on what the treaty means. Most importantly, the final ruling on the treaty’s meaning will bind the intervener just as it binds South Africa and Israel.
Comoros today invoked this right as one of the 153 states party to the Genocide Convention. It stressed that the treaty creates erga omnes partes obligations—rules that every signer owes to the entire group, not just to individual countries. In plain terms: if one member breaks the promise to prevent and punish genocide, every other member has a legal stake in holding them accountable, even if none of its own citizens are harmed. Think of it like a housing society rule against fire hazards: any resident can raise the alarm if someone starts a blaze, not just the next-door neighbour.
The declaration also underlined the jus cogens status of the genocide ban—an unbreakable core rule of international law that no country can ever opt out of, treaty or no treaty. Like gravity, it applies everywhere, always.
Comoros maintains that Articles I, III, IV, V and VI of the Genocide Convention, read in conjunction with Article II, are in question in this case, as well as the construction of Article IX “in so far as it concerns the jurisdiction of the Court”. It submitted its own interpretation of these provisions.
South Africa and Israel must now provide written observations on the declaration under Article 83 of the Rules of Court. The full text of the declaration of intervention of the Comoros is available on the Court’s website.
For context, Article 62 offers a different path—the “legal interest door.” A country must ask permission and prove the case could directly harm its own rights. Only two states, Palestine and Belize, have used this harder route alongside Article 63. The remaining 14, including Comoros, walked through the open treaty door.
South Africa launched the case on December 29, 2023, alleging Israeli violations of the Genocide Convention duties toward Palestinians in Gaza. The Court ordered provisional measures on January 26, 2024, added further measures on March 28, 2024, and reaffirmed and expanded them on May 24, 2024.
Prior interveners under Article 63 include Colombia (April 5, 2024), Libya (May 10, 2024), Mexico (May 24, 2024), Spain (June 28, 2024), Türkiye (August 7, 2024), Chile (September 12, 2024), the Maldives (October 1, 2024), Bolivia (October 8, 2024), Ireland (January 6, 2025), Cuba (January 13, 2025), and Brazil (September 17, 2025).
– global bihari bureau
