Pearls and Irritations

The Republic of Nicaragua yesterday instituted proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany in the International Court of Justice for “facilitating the commission of genocide and… [failing] in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide” by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and by defunding the UNRWA.

International Court of Justice press release follows:

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE, Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands. Press Release No. 2024/19 (Unofficial)

1 March 2024

The Republic of Nicaragua institutes proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany and requests the Court to indicate provisional measures

THE HAGUE, 1 March 2024. Nicaragua today filed an Application instituting proceedings against Germany before the International Court of Justice for alleged violations by Germany of its obligations deriving from the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”), the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, “intransgressible principles of international humanitarian law” and other norms of general international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip.

The Applicant states that “[e]ach and every Contracting Party to the Genocide Convention has a duty under the Convention to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide” and that, since October 2023, there has been “a recognised risk of genocide against the Palestinian people, directed first of all against the population of the Gaza Strip”. Nicaragua argues that by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and by defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), “Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide”.

Nicaragua seeks to found the Court’s jurisdiction on the declarations by which both States accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court and on the compromissory clause contained in Article IX of the Genocide Convention.

The Application also contains a Request for the indication of provisional measures, pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute of the Court and Articles 73, 74 and 75 of the Rules of Court. Nicaragua requests the Court to indicate provisional measures as a matter of extreme urgency, pending the Court’s determination on the merits of the case, with respect to Germany’s “participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza Strip”.

Pursuant to Article 74 of the Rules of Court, “[a] request for the indication of provisional measures shall have priority over all other cases”.

The Application instituting proceedings, which includes the Request for the indication of provisional measures, is available on the Court’s website.

Note: The Court’s press releases are prepared by its Registry for information purposes only and do not constitute official documents.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in April 1946. The Court is composed of 15 judges elected for a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). The Court has a twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States; and, second, to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and agencies of the system.

First published by the International Court of Justice, March 1, 2024.

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