The International Court of Justice is being asked to decide whether a case testing states’ responsibilities for military support to a country accused of genocide should proceed to a full hearing. Germany on Monday urged the court to dismiss Nicaragua’s case, which alleges that Berlin facilitated genocide in Gaza through its military support for Israel.
Nicaragua launched the proceedings in March 2024, accusing Germany of breaching the Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law. It says Germany failed to prevent genocide and contributed to the humanitarian crisis by suspending funding to Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Germany denies the accusations. It is Israel’s second-largest supplier of arms after the United States, and its legal team opened four days of hearings at the ICJ, based in The Hague, with objections to the court’s jurisdiction and to the admissibility of Nicaragua’s claims.
The court is considering procedural questions at this stage. A later merits phase would examine Nicaragua’s allegation that Germany violated international law, if the case survives the preliminary objections.
Berlin argues that Nicaragua had not established that a legal dispute existed before filing its application. Germany also says Nicaragua failed to notify it properly of the allegations and did not allow enough time for a response before bringing the proceedings.
Christian Tams, a lawyer for Germany, told the court that 98 percent of exports to Israel since October 7, 2023, had been general military equipment, including helmets, vests and binoculars. The brief description does not set out the full range of equipment supplied.
Germany had stopped authorising exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza last year. It later lifted those restrictions.
The hearings follow Israel’s military operation in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. They are also part of wider litigation at the ICJ over the conflict. South Africa has separately brought a genocide case against Israel before the same court.
In January 2024, the World Court ruled in that separate case that there was “a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice” would be caused to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention. That finding formed part of the court’s consideration at the time and did not resolve South Africa’s wider case against Israel.
Nicaragua initially asked the ICJ to issue emergency orders requiring Germany to end military assistance to Israel and restore funding for UNRWA. The court rejected those provisional measures in April 2024, while allowing Nicaragua’s broader case to continue.
Germany will present its arguments on Monday before Nicaragua responds. Each country will then have a further opportunity to address the court on Wednesday and Thursday.
The case could clarify how the Genocide Convention applies to a state providing military support to another state facing genocide allegations. The court has previously considered a state’s duty to prevent genocide. In 2007, it ruled that Serbia “violated the obligation to prevent genocide” in relation to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
A ruling on Germany’s preliminary objections takes on average six months. The decision will determine whether Nicaragua’s allegations move towards a merits hearing, where the court would consider the substance of the claims against Berlin.
Comments (0)