The Hague: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today unanimously decided in favour of the admissibility of the declarations submitted by seven countries in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – (The Gambia versus Myanmar).
Accordingly, the seven States concerned will be allowed to submit their written observations on the subject matter of their interventions. The Court will determine at a later date whether they should be authorized to make observations in the course of the oral proceedings.
The declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the Statute submitted by Maldives, and jointly by Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Court in its order said the submissions by these countries were admissible in so far as they concern the construction of provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
History of the proceedings
On November 11, 2019, The Gambia filed in the Registry of the Court an Application instituting proceedings against Myanmar concerning alleged violations of the Genocide Convention. In its Application, The Gambia requests, among other things, that the Court adjudge and declare that Myanmar has breached its obligations under the Convention, that it must cease forthwith any internationally wrongful act, that it must perform the obligations of reparation in the interest of the victims of genocidal acts who are members of the Rohingya group, and that it must offer assurances and guarantees of non-repetition. As a basis for the Court’s jurisdiction, the Applicant invokes Article IX of the Genocide Convention. The Application was accompanied by a request for the indication of provisional measures.
On January 23, 2020, the Court made an Order indicating a number of provisional measures, requiring among other things that Myanmar, in relation to the members of the Rohingya group in its territory, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention; take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of such acts; and submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to the Order within four months, as from the date of the Order, and thereafter every six months, pending a final decision in the case by the Court.
By a further Order dated January 23, 2020, the Court fixed July 23, 2020, and January 25, 2021, as the respective time limits for the filing of a Memorial by The Gambia and a Counter-Memorial by Myanmar. By an Order dated May 18, 2020, these time limits were extended to October 23, 2020, and July 23, 2021, respectively. The Memorial of The Gambia was filed within the time limit thus extended.
On January 20, 2021, Myanmar raised preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the Application.
On July 22, 2022, following public hearings, the Court delivered its Judgment, in which it rejected the preliminary objections raised by Myanmar and found that it had jurisdiction to entertain the Application filed by The Gambia on the basis of Article IX of the Genocide Convention and that the Application was admissible.
By an Order dated July 22, 2022, the Court fixed April 24, 2023, as the new time limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorial of Myanmar. By Orders dated April 6, 2023, and May 12, 2023, respectively, the Court extended that time limit, first to May 24, 2023, and then to August 24, 2023. The Counter-Memorial was filed within the time limit thus fixed.
By an Order dated October 16, 2023, the Court authorized the submission of a Reply by The Gambia and a Rejoinder by Myanmar and fixed May 16, 2024, and December 16, 2024, as the respective time limits for the filing of those written pleadings. The Gambia duly filed its reply.
On November 15, 2023, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (jointly) and the Maldives filed declarations of intervention under Article 63 of the Statute of the Court.
– global bihari bureau
