The Order of the International Court of Justice on the Gaza War
Significance and Limitations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57947/qrp.v63i1.128Keywords:
International Court of Justice, Gaza, Israel, South Africa, OrderAbstract
Expectations and fears were high (Wintour, 2024): Would the International Court of Justice (ICJ) put an end to the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip – a reaction to the Simchat Torah Massacre? Would legal means (be able to) stop violence and suffering as well as the looming conflagration? Would Israel be denied self-defense or the population of Gaza denied humanitarian protection? ICJ, Order of 26/1/2024, South Africa v. Israel, General List No. 192, demonstrates the importance and limits of jurisdiction and the danger of its misinterpretation and disregard. It did not stop the fighting. It required compliance with the 1948 Genocide Convention and humanitarian relief, yet it lacks effective enforcement mechanisms. More important is an internationally coordinated and guarded political approach for an immediate truce and a durable solution.
References
Albanese, F., & Takkenberg, L. (2020). Palestinian refugees in international law (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Al Jazeera (2024, January 26). World reacts to ICJ interim ruling in Gaza genocide case against Israel: Ruling on South Africa’s requests, top UN court orders Israel to take all measures to prevent acts of genocide but does not call for ceasefire (updated 28/1/2024). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/26/world-reacts-to-icj-ruling-on-south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel
A Land For All. (2022). From conflict to reconciliation. A new vision for Palestinian-Israeli peace. https://www.alandforall.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/booklet-english.pdf
Amos, D. (2022, January 13). In a landmark case, a German court convicts an ex-Syrian officer of torture. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/13/1072416672/germany-syria-torture-trial-crimes-against-humanity-verdict
Barak, A. (2024). Separate opinion of Judge Ad Hoc Barak. https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-05-en.pdf
Ben-Meir, A. (2022). The case for an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian confederation. Why now and how? World Affairs, 185(1), 9-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200211066350
Bergman, R., & Kingsley, P. (2024, January 28). Details emerge on U.N. workers accused of aiding Hamas raid. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/world/middleeast/gaza-unrwa-hamas-israel.html
Ephron, D. (2020, December 21). How Arab ties with Israel became the Middle East’s new normal: Though Israel remains opposed to Palestinian independence, 2020 marked the year of its acceptance in the region. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/12/21/arab-ties-israel-diplomacy-normalization-middle-east/
Guterres, A. (2023, October 9). Secretary-General’s remarks to the press on the situation in the Middle East. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2023-10-09/secretary-generals-remarks-the-press-the-situation-the-middle-east
Husseini, H., Beilin, Y., Brom, S., Dajani, O., Elostaz, M., Gal, Y., Kremnitzer, M., Oron, I., & Sarsar, S. (2022). The Holy Land Confederation as a facilitator for the two-state solution. https://ecf.org.il/media_items/1538
International Court of Justice. (2004). Advisory Opinion of 9/7/2004: Legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory (General List No. 131). https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/131/131-20040709-ADV-01-00-EN.pdf
International Court of Justice. (2024a). Order of 26/1/2024: Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel; General List No. 192). https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf
International Court of Justice. (2024b). Decision of 16/2/2024: Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel; No. 2024/16). https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240216-pre-01-00-en.pdf
Johannsen, M. (2017). Der Nahost-konflikt: Eine Einführung [The Middle-East Conflict: An Introduction] (4th ed.). Springer VS. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-16088-3
Kim, V. (2024, January 30). Aid group calls halts in funding for UNRWA ‘reckless’. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/world/middleeast/unrwa-funding-idf-hamas.html
Khan KC, K. A. A. (2023). Statement by Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC on the issuance of arrest warrants against President Vladimir Putin and Ms Maria Lvova-Belova. International Criminal Court. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-prosecutor-karim-khan-kc-issuance-arrest-warrants-against-president-vladimir-putin
Krämer, G. (2015). Geschichte Palästinas: Von der osmanischen Eroberung bis zur Gründung des Staates Israel [History of Palestine: From the Ottoman conquest to the founding of the State of Israel] (6th ed.). C.H. Beck.
Schneer, J (2011). The Balfour Declaration: The origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Bloomsbury.
Sebutinde, J. (2024). Dissenting Opinion of Judge Sebutinde. https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-02-en.pdf
Sharon, J. (2024, January 29). Cabinet members call to resettle Gaza, encourage Gazans to leave, at jubilant conference: 11 ministers, 15 coalition MKs present amid dancing at right-wing confab attended by thousands; Likud minister appears to endorse coercive measures to promote Palestinian emigration. The Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/12-ministers-call-to-resettle-gaza-encourage-gazans-to-leave-at-jubilant-conference/
United Nations General Assembly. (1947). Future government of Palestine (UNGA Res. 181 [II] of 29/11/1947). https://www.refworld.org/legal/resolution/unga/1947/en/944
United Nations General Assembly. (1948). Palestine: Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator (Res. 194 [III] of 11/12/1948). https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/210025/files/A_RES_194%28III%29-EN.pdf?ln=en
United Nations General Assembly, & United Nations Security Council. (1993). Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (A/48/486 & S/26560 of 11/10/1993). https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/IL%20PS_930913_DeclarationPrinciplesnterimSelf-Government%28Oslo%20Accords%29.pdf
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2023, September 26). Holocaust Encyclopedia: How many people did the Nazis murder? https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (n.d.). October 2023 escalation. Retrieved February 5, 2024, from https://www.ochaopt.org/crisis
United Nations Security Council. (1967). Resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967. http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/doc/242
Williams, D., & Tétrault-Farber, G. (2024, January 29). Israel accuses 190 UN staff of being ‘hardened’ militants. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-intelligence-accuses-190-gaza-un-staff-hamas-islamic-jihad-roles-2024-01-29/
Wintour, P. (2024, January 24). ICJ to deliver interim ruling on genocide case against Israel on Friday. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/24/icj-to-deliver-interim-ruling-on-genocide-case-against-israel-on-friday
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Quarterly on Refugee Problems - AWR Bulletin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.