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WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA'S GENOCIDE CASE AGAINST ISRAEL AT THE ICJ?

By Stephanie van den Berg
January 11, 20249:20 PM GMT+1Updated a year ago
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THE HAGUE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The International Court of Justice will hold
hearings this week on a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide
in the Gaza war and seeking an emergency suspension of its military campaign.


WHAT IS THE ICJ?

The ICJ, also called the World Court, is the highest United Nations legal body,
established in 1945 to deal with disputes between states. It should not be
confused with the treaty-based International Criminal Court, also in The Hague,
which handles war crimes cases against individuals.
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The ICJ's 15-judge panel - which will be expanded by an additional judge from
each side in the Israel case - deals with border disputes and increasingly cases
brought by states accusing others of breaking U.N. treaty obligations.
Both South Africa and Israel are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention
which gives the ICJ the jurisdiction to rule on disputes over the treaty. While
the case revolves around the occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinians have
no official role in the proceedings because they are not a United Nations member
state.
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All states that signed the Genocide Convention are obliged to not commit
genocide and also to prevent and punish it. The treaty defines genocide as "acts
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial or religious group".


WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA'S CASE?

In its 84-page filing South Africa says that by killing Palestinians in Gaza,
causing them serious mental and bodily harm and by creating conditions on life
"calculated to bring about their physical destruction", Israel is committing
genocide against them.

It lists Israel's failure to provide essential food, water, medicine, fuel,
shelter and other humanitarian assistance to the Gaza strip during the more than
three-month-old war with Hamas. It also points to the sustained bombing campaign
which has laid much of the enclave to waste, forced the evacuation of some 1.9
million Palestinians and killed over 23,000 people according to Gaza health
authorities.

"The acts are all attributable to Israel, which has failed to prevent genocide
and is committing genocide in manifest violation of the Genocide Convention,"
the filing says, adding that Israel also failed to curb incitement to genocide
by its own officials in violation of the convention. It asks the court to impose
emergency measures to cease alleged violations by Israel.


WHAT IS ISRAEL'S RESPONSE?

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the ICJ case "atrocious and preposterous".
Israel has said it makes utmost efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.
The Israeli offensive was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border Hamas
attacks in which Islamist fighters killed 1,200 people and abducted 240,
according to Israeli figures.

General view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague,
Netherlands December 11, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Purchase Licensing
Rights, opens new tab
"We will be there at the International Court of Justice and will present proudly
our case of using self-defence under our most inherent right under international
humanitarian law," Herzog said.


WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE HEARINGS?

The hearings will take place on Jan 11 and 12. South Africa and Israel will both
have two hours on separate days to make their case for or against emergency
measures. There will be no witness testimony and no cross-examinations. The
presentation will be mostly legal arguments brought by state officials and their
teams of international lawyers.
The request for emergency measures is a first step in a case that will take
several years to complete. Formally called provisional measures, they are meant
as a kind of restraining order to prevent a dispute from getting worse while the
court looks at the full case.
The court will not make a final determination on South Africa's genocide
allegations until a hearing of the case on the merits, which is likely years
away.
This week's hearings are only about possibly granting emergency measures. Judges
at the ICJ often grant such measures, which generally consist of asking a state
to refrain from any action that could aggravate the legal dispute.
For provisional measures the court only has to decide if at first glance, or
prima facie, it would have jurisdiction and the acts complained of could fall
within the scope of the genocide treaty. Any measures it decides would not
necessarily be those requested by the complainant.
South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to suspend its military actions
in Gaza, to stop any genocidal acts or take reasonable measures to prevent
genocide and issue regular reports to the ICJ about such measures.
A decision on the measures is expected in the weeks following the hearings.
The ICJ's rulings are final and without appeal, but it has no way of enforcing
them. A ruling against Israel could hurt the country's international reputation
and set legal precedent.


HOW LONG WILL IT BE UNTIL A FINAL RULING ?

If the court finds it has prima facie jurisdiction, the case will move forward
at the ornate Peace Palace in The Hague - even if the judges decide against
emergency measures.
Israel would then get another chance to argue the court has no legal grounds to
look at South Africa's claim and to file a so-called preliminary objection -
which can only touch on issues of jurisdiction. If the court rejects that
objection, the judges could finally look at the case in further public hearings.
It is not unusual for several years to pass between the initial claim and the
actual hearing of the case on its merits.

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your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by William Maclean

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

 * Suggested Topics:
 * Middle East
 * Human Rights
 * RULES:ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS

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