One year after 7th October: the limited impact of international justice
Actions to halt the war, stop arms exports, and prosecute perpetrators of crimes: the tragic events that have unfolded since October 7, 2023, in Israel and Palestine have triggered a historically unprecedented wave of global judicial activity. Although some tangible results have been achieved over the past year, the overall impact remains very limited at this stage.
Altering the Course of the Israeli Military Offensive in Gaza
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has become the focal point of legal efforts surrounding the conflict following a request by South Africa, which alleged that Israel violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention. In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide” and to allow access to humanitarian aid. In May, after another submission, the Court further ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive on Rafah.
These decisions received massive global media coverage, especially among a younger generation who encountered them on TikTok. However, they did not change the course of Israeli military operations.
In Israel, a lawsuit was also initiated by a group of non-governmental organizations before the Supreme Court to alter the course of the war, specifically regarding humanitarian access in northern Gaza. Hearings began in April and are still ongoing, with no concrete results to date.
Halting Arms Exports to Israel
Legal actions have been initiated in several Western countries to prevent their governments from supplying weapons to Israel. In February, following one such action, a Dutch appellate court ordered its government to cease all exports and effective transit of F-35 aircraft parts to Israel. Similarly, the new British government decided in September to suspend 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel.
However, the legal action that could have had the most tangible impact on the issue of arms exports has, so far, been unsuccessful. In the United States, a California court ruled in late January to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a civil society group against the Biden administration for its military support to Israel. The court found that it lacked jurisdiction, as foreign relations matters are exclusively under the purview of the executive branches and thus non-justiciable. This decision was upheld in July, and a motion for the disqualification of judges is currently underway.
Prosecuting Individuals Held Responsible for Crimes
This is by far the most diverse category in terms of actions undertaken.
The court whose decisions could have the most significant consequences is, without a doubt, the International Criminal Court (ICC), where the prosecutor has requested the issuance of arrest warrants for international crimes against the highest-ranking Palestinian and Israeli officials. The judges have yet to rule on this request, having allowed a multitude of parties, including the United States, to weigh in on the matter.
Numerous other legal actions have been initiated around the world at the national level. To our knowledge, they only target Israeli nationals.
En Suisse, the Federal Tribunal, in a ruling published in August, definitively ended the efforts of a Jura-based collective to seek the criminal responsibility of Israeli officials. In France (link in French only), a torture complaint was filed in April against a Franco-Israeli soldier following a video posted by the latter on Telegram.
The most concrete result achieved at the national level so far occurred in Morocco a few weeks ago. An Israeli national who had participated in his country’s military operations for three months in Gaza and who traveled to Marrakech in July is now set to stand trial there. The man had also posted photos of himself in Gaza on the Telegram messaging platform.
Additionally, the Chief Military Advocate General of the Israeli Army has opened an investigation following reports of widespread torture against Palestinians detained in Gaza. This investigation led to the arrest of Israeli soldiers linked to the Sde Teiman camp in the Negev, where more than 30 detainees have died. These arrests sparked riots by far-right activists and led to the release of some of the detained soldiers.
As we can see, one year after the onset of the conflict, the concrete results of legal actions remain very limited, though it is likely that the ongoing proceedings in Morocco are already affecting the international travel of Israelis who fought in Gaza. However, a green light given to the ICC prosecutor’s arrest warrant requests would have seismic consequences. Indeed, the Israeli Prime Minister, in particular, like Vladimir Putin, would no longer be able to travel to 124 countries without, in theory, being arrested and handed over to the ICC.
The article first appeared in French on Le Temps on the 7th of October, 2024
Photo: UN Photo/ICJ-CIJ/Frank van Beek. Courtesy of the ICJ.
