I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 17 together.
As I set out in response to a similar question from the Deputy in June, 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. At that juncture, I indicated that it was intended to do so after South Africa has filed its Memorial in the case.
The Deputy will recall that on 5 April, the ICJ made an Order setting time-limits for the filing of written pleadings by the parties in this case. South Africa last week filed its Memorial before the time-limit of 28 October last, and Israel has until 28 July 2025 to file its Counter-Memorial.
Work is now in hand on the preparation of Ireland’s Declaration of Intervention, which it is intended will be filed by the end of the year. Officials in my Department are in contact with their counterparts in South Africa.
The written pleadings in the case remain confidential until the opening of the oral proceedings. However, under the ICJ’s Rules of Court, where an intervention is deemed admissible, the intervening State is furnished with copies of all the written pleadings, including the Memorial of the applicant party.
