Fatally Flawed - analysis of the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion
The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation (thinc.)
We challenge the use of international law when it is misused to delegitimize the state of Israel.
In its July 19, 2024 Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has opined that Israel’s “continued presence” in the West Bank (i.e. Judea and Samaria), East Jerusalem, and Gaza (referred to as the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” (OPT) is unlawful.
According to 11 of the court’s 15 judges, Israel must unconditionally end its presence in said territory. In addition, the UN and all states must cooperate to implement measures to ensure that Israel brings its presence in these territories to an end “as rapidly as possible.
This opinion faced significant criticism by some of the court’s own judges. Four of them offered a fundamentally different perspective, saying that Israel’s presence is not unlawful, and Israel is therefore not obliged to bring its presence in the Territories, as such, to an end.
To gain a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding the ICJ's recent Advisory Opinion on Israel's presence in Judea, Samaria, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, we invite you to read our full briefing.
The Vice President of the Court, Judge Julia Sebutinde, issued a powerful dissenting opinion, in which she said, there are numerous factual and legal flaws in the majority’s reasoning. In her view, the Advisory Opinion does not reflect a balanced and impartial examination of the pertinent legal and factual issues in question. It is imperative to grasp the historical nuances of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the competing territorial claims of the parties to a British Mandatory Palestine.
Judge Sebutinde added in her Dissenting Opinion: “… I am strongly of the view that the Court should have declined to give its Advisory Opinion in the present case.
Instead, Israel and Palestine, the two parties to the conflict, should be encouraged to return to the negotiating table and to find a lasting solution jointly and consensually. The United Nations and international community at large, should do all in their power to support such negotiations. Regrettably, the advisory opinion has downplayed the importance of the negotiation framework, including the role of the United Nations and international community in that regard.”
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The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation, thinc., has prepared a briefing looking deeply into these issues. We are of the view that the majority opinion is one-sided and fundamentally flawed.
To understand the complexities and implications of the issue, we invite you to read the full briefing below which is also available on our website.
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