The International Court of Justice and third-party interrention in maritime disputes: An assessment to the decision on Costa Rica’s and Honduras requests for permission to intervene in the Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia)

Abstract

Article 62 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice establishes that, should a State consider that it has an interest of legal nature which may be affected by the decision in the case, it may be permitted to intervene, being for the Court to decide upon the request. The Court’s latest decisions regarding third-party intervention indicated that the arisen discussions, in the jurisprudence and doctrine, concerning the construction and application of this topic seemed to have disappeared. Nonetheless, the Court’s recent decisions on Costa Rica’s and Honduras’ requests for permission to intervene in the Territorial and Maritime Dispute between Nicaragua and Colombia seems to have revive said discussions. This article presents a general introduction to intervention, explaining the application the Court has given to it, as well as analyzes each of the requirements a State must met in cases brought before the Court for its settlement. As a conclusion, a commentary and analysis to the Court’s most recent decisions on requests for permission to intervene is presented.

Keywords

• Corte Internacional de Justicia
• intervención discrecional
• artículo 62 del Estatuto de la Corte Internacional de Justicia
• res judicata