Spain seeks to join SA’s ICJ action

Spain filed court papers at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently to become part of SA’s ongoing case against Israel for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention in Gaza. The UN’s special rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, said she hopes it “marks the beginning of more Western countries taking similar actions”. SA accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in its military campaign in Gaza. The ICJ is the highest UN body for hearing disputes between states.

Spain has filed court papers at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to become part of SA ’ s case against Israel for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention in Gaza.

UN special rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese said she hoped it “marks the beginning of more Western countries taking similar actions”. SA accuses Israel of repeatedly violating the Genocide Convention in its military campaign in Gaza, to which both countries are signatories. The ICJ is the highest UN body for hearing disputes between states.

In October 2023, Hamas militants invaded Israel and killed more than 1,000 people and kidnapped nearly 250 others. Israel began military operations in Gaza, saying it was targeting Hamas.

But SA argued that evidence said otherwise, pointing to a reported 35,000 Palestinians killed, including children, aid workers and journalists.

SA has successfully obtained various interim orders from a nearly unanimous ICJ bench, since January.

Spain is now one of several nations that have sought, or plan, to intervene in SA’s case that will be heard in full at a later date.

“Spain is not joining the case as a party,” Prof Adil Haque of Rutgers University told Business Day “and [Spain] is not presenting new evidence.” Primarily, Spain’s intervention was “to offer its interpretation of the Genocide Convention.”

The full ICJ hearing has not been given a date, but could be months or possibly years down the line. A judgment will itself only come much later. So far, SA’s case at the ICJ has only been at preliminary stages.

Spain’s main focus in its papers filed on Friday, but which became public Monday, is on interpreting what constitutes “genocidal intent”.

Spain noted proving “intention” is not difficult. explicitly “When stated, the”intention Spain said in its papers, “the dimension of these acts, their gravity and their indiscriminate nature when targeting the members of the group, might be interpreted as indications of such an intention.” Spain wants the court to use this interpretation when assessing whether intent exists.

As Haque noted, Spain argued “public statements by Israeli officials may be evidence of genocidal intent”, with Spain citing statements by Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant, its national security minister, ltamar Ben-Gvir, and others. “Spain also argues that Israel’s apparent violation of the court’s provisional measures orders may be evidence of failure to prevent acts of genocide.”

Spain cited SA’s recently submitted 121-page “dossier of evidence” to UN Security Council, which SA says indicates Israel’s violations of the ICJ’s orders.

Haque said Spain’s arguments were “measured”.

This week also saw Israel find a new judge to represent it on the ICJ bench at the later hearings. According to the Times of Israel, Prof Ron Shapira will serve as Israel’s ad hoc judge. Shapira is a professor at Peres Academic Centre, a private college in Israel.

Ad hoc judges are appointed when there is no current judge on the ICJ from a country arguing in the court. Israel’s previous ad hoc judge, former Israeli chief justice Aharon Barak, stepped down recently.

SA has its own — and first — permanent judge, Dire Tladi, already on the bench.