Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) - Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands file a joint declarat

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
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Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2022/70
7 December 2022
Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands file a joint declaration of intervention in the proceedings under Article 63 of the Statute
THE HAGUE, 7 December 2022. Today, Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a joint declaration of intervention in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation).
Pursuant to Article 63 of the Statute, whenever the construction of a convention to which States other than those concerned in the case are parties is in question, each of these States has the right to intervene in the proceedings. In this case, the construction given by the judgment of the Court will be equally binding upon them.
To avail themselves of the right of intervention conferred by Article 63 of the Statute, Canada and the Netherlands rely on their status as parties to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
In their joint declaration, Canada and the Netherlands state that “bearing in mind the jus cogens character of the prohibition of genocide, and the erga omnes partes nature of the obligations under the Genocide Convention, all Contracting Parties have a common interest in the accomplishment of the high purposes of the Genocide Convention”. They add that “[g]iven their common interest in the accomplishment of the high purposes of the Convention, as well as their consequent interest in its construction, Canada and the Netherlands have decided to intervene in this case in order to place their interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Convention before the Court”.
In accordance with Article 83 of the Rules of Court, Ukraine and the Russian Federation have been invited to furnish written observations on the joint declaration of intervention.
The joint declaration of intervention of Canada and the Netherlands will be available on the Court’s website shortly.
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History of the proceedings
The history of the proceedings can be found in press releases Nos. 2022/4, 2022/6, 2022/7, 2022/11, 2022/25, 2022/26, 2022/27, 2022/28, 2022/29, 2022/31, 2022/33, 2022/34, 2022/35, 2022/36, 2022/37, 2022/38, 2022/39, 2022/41, 2022/42, 2022/43, 2022/45, 2022/46, 2022/48, 2022/50, 2022/51, 2022/52, 2022/54, 2022/60, 2022/64, 2022/66, 2022/67 and 2022/69, available on the Court’s website.
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Note: The Court’s press releases are prepared by its Registry for information purposes only and do not constitute official documents.
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in April 1946. The Court is composed of 15 judges elected for a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). The Court has a twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, through judgments which have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned, legal disputes submitted to it by States; and, second, to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and agencies of the system.
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Information Department:
Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department (+31 (0)70 302 2336)
Ms Joanne Moore, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Mr. Avo Sevag Garabet, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)