Procedural Law of the International Court of Justice: Intervention (Part 3)

Pursuant to Article 63 of the Statute, every State party to a convention the construction of which is in question in a case before the Court has a right to intervene in that case. Although intervention under Article 63 is a matter of right, a number of procedural conditions must be met for that right to be exercised. A State intervening under Article 62 or Article63 enjoys certain procedural rights. In particular, it is entitled to submit to the Court a written statement and oral observations dealing with the subject-matter of the intervention. In terms of the effect of a judgment on a State intervening under Article 62, this will depend on what kind of status it possesses as intervenor in the proceedings. Under Article 63, the construction of a convention given by the Court in its judgment will be binding for the intervening State.