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Aljazeera.net correspondents
Ankara- Submitted TürkiyeYesterday, Wednesday, a formal request to join the case Genocide which I raised South Africa Against Israel in front of international justice Court In December last year. The Foreign Ministry said that “the application submitted to the court in The Hagueprepared in a very detailed manner based on Article 63 of its Statute.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan It was announced in early May that Ankara had decided to join South Africa's lawsuit, and the Turkish embassy in The Hague sent a note to the International Court of Justice on May 31, explaining Turkey's intention to submit this application, which represented the first formal step in the accession process.
The head of the Legal Committee said:To the Turkish ParliamentJunaid Yuksel, The President Recep Tayyip Erdogan He decided to intervene in the case and stated that the necessary studies had been initiated based on this decision. Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunç, confirmed that the file submitted by Ankara to the International Court of Justice includes all the evidence and proofs proving Israel's violation of the Convention. United nations Special to the crime of genocide.
Legal steps
States seek to join cases brought before the International Court of Justice through Articles 62 and 63 of the Statute of the Court.
- Article 62: It allows states that believe they have a potential legal interest in the case to apply to join, provided that the court approves the application. This requires the submission of evidence demonstrating a legal interest that could be affected by the outcome of the case, and if approved, the joining state is allowed to participate in the hearings, make written and oral interventions, and comment on points of law.
- Article 63: States are granted an unconditional right to join, as the court examines the statements of the parties wishing to join before deciding whether to approve or reject them. If the court considers that the statement submitted to exercise the right of accession is consistent with the required conditions and criteria, its decision in the case also becomes binding on the joining state, which gives this right great legal and international importance.
Turkey has announced its intention to join the current case under Article 63, which gives it an opportunity to express its opinion on the interpretation of the Genocide Convention, which is at the heart of the dispute.
The importance of interpretations is highlighted. Ankara Given its role as an influential regional power, and its ability to influence the deliberations of international justice judges, it also reserves the right to apply for accession under Article 62 at a later stage, which would enable it to play a more active role in legal discussions and enhance its ability to influence the outcome of a case.
The importance of joining
A source familiar with the details of the request, who preferred to remain anonymous, stated that the committee worked proactively to refute all the arguments and excuses that Israel might present before the court regarding this issue.
He explained to Al Jazeera Net that “Israeli human rights activists” may try to claim that the massacres that took place in Gaza strip During the past ten months there have been isolated incidents and the occupation government “seeks to combat such acts and does not encourage them.”
According to the same source, the Israelis may cite events Sde Timan detention center The latter to support their position. However, the committee refuted these allegations and presented evidence proving the Israeli government's involvement in these massacres, which strengthens the Turkish claim before the court.
He added that the Turkish request stresses the urgent need to implement the provisional precautionary measures issued by the International Court of Justice without delay, which include stopping Israeli attacks on Gaza and opening Rafah crossing Border crossing urgently needs humanitarian aid.
In turn, international law researcher, Yugal Ager, confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that Ankara’s joining of this lawsuit does not mean that it has become a main party to it, as the two main parties to it are South Africa and Israel.
In his opinion, the countries that joined the lawsuit are those that see that they have an interest in the decisions that will be issued by the court, and that they may be affected by the current situation, and for this reason they seek to provide evidence and opinions that support one of the disputing parties.
Ability and experience
Researcher Ajir pointed out that Turkey's joining the lawsuit aims to support the Palestinian people, and puts it in a different position given Ankara's ability and experience in documenting the crimes committed by the occupation army in Gaza. He added that the distinguished relations between Turkey andPalestine It will make it easier for her to gather the evidence needed to support her case.
Regarding Turkey's role in the case, he said that its accession should not be viewed as an immediate step that would end with the court accepting or rejecting the request, but rather that it would play an important role during the evaluation phase, which could last for years, until the charge of genocide committed by Israel in Gaza is proven.
The legal academic explained that Turkey did not delay in joining the lawsuit, and that it could have been the first to file the lawsuit before South Africa, and that work on this file had been ongoing since last April, but South Africa's steps “were faster.”
He believes that South Africa filing the lawsuit was the best option, because Ankara doing so “would have made the world system see the issue from a political perspective, which might reduce the seriousness of its interest.”
Ager recalled that Turkey has previously faced accusations of committing genocide, which may “limit its ability to bring the case alone, as its relationship with the court is less strong than its relationship with South Africa.”
It is noteworthy that so far, Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine and Spain have requested to join South Africa's lawsuit, but the International Court of Justice has not yet decided on these requests.
