ABSTRACT
The primary function of the International Court of Justice, like all international courts and tribunals, has traditionally been seen as the settlement of bilateral disputes between pairs of states. This has resulted in the development of procedures that are themselves bilateral and focused on the protection of the interests of the parties to the case. Within this traditional model, there has been limited room for the accommodation of public interests. Nevertheless, there are procedural tools with which public interest issues could become integrated into a case. Their full potential to do this, however, has not been realised. This chapter examines one such tool: third-party intervention as provided for in the Statute of the International Court of Justice. While the Court has been rather restrictive in granting such interventions, it is argued that third-party intervention could be effectively used as a tool for litigation in the public interest. None of the obstacles and challenges to interventions in the public interest is insurmountable. It is perfectly possible for public interest to be incorporated into contentious cases, while simultaneously ensuring the integrity and fairness of such proceedings.
