Human Rights Watch said that an unprecedented number of countries and international organizations are expected to participate in the oral hearings to be held by the International Court of Justice regarding the 57-year-old Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

As of February 19, 52 countries and 3 international organizations are participating in the oral hearings, a greater number than any other case since the highest court in the world began its work in 1946.

Human Rights Watch considered that the broad participation “reflects the growing global momentum to address the decades-long failure to ensure respect for international law in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Clive Baldwin, senior legal advisor at Human Rights Watch, said that the Court of Justice “will, for the first time, consider on a large scale the legal consequences of the nearly six-decade Israeli occupation and mistreatment of the Palestinian people. Governments presenting their arguments to the Court must seize these historic hearings to highlight the grave violations committed by the Israeli authorities against the Palestinians, including crimes against humanity represented by apartheid and persecution.

Advisory opinion

The organization explained that the upcoming sessions come in response to a request submitted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2022 to obtain an advisory opinion from the court regarding the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory.

It indicated that the sessions will constitute an opportunity to consider Israel's practices and policies that violate the international legal prohibition against racial discrimination, including crimes against humanity represented by apartheid and persecution, and to evaluate the legal responsibilities of other countries and the United Nations to address those violations.

Human Rights Watch said that although the opinions of the International Court of Justice are non-binding, they can carry great moral and legal authority, and could eventually become part of customary international law, which is legally binding on states, and it expected that the International Court of Justice would issue its legal opinion before the end of this year.

It explained that the sessions - which will last 6 days - differ from the case that South Africa brought to the same court regarding Israel’s violation of the Genocide Convention.

It is noteworthy that the United Nations General Assembly had previously requested, for the first time in December 2003, the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion regarding the occupied Palestinian territory.

In July 2004, the Court's advisory opinion concluded that the route of the Israeli separation wall violated international law and that it should be dismantled.

Source: Human Rights Watch