Webinar | On the Table of the ICJ: The Legality/Illegality of Israeli Occupation and the Subsequent International Responsibility
Jurists for Palestine Forum – Season 2
Panel discussion 9 – Online
Jurists for Palestine Forum, one of Law for Palestine’s projects and the widest international network for legal professionals interested in the Question of Palestine, and in partnership with the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), are pleased to announce a webinar on the “International Court of Justice: The Legality/Illegality of Israeli Occupation and the Subsequent International Responsibility”.
Main information:
- Date: Friday, Jan. 27, 2023
- Time: 18:00 – 19:30 Jerusalem time || 16:00 – 17:30 GMT
- Place: Online – Zoom link will be sent to registrants.
- Language: English and Arabic. Simultaneous interpretation provided.
- Registration is required: The webinar will be open for the members of Jurists for Palestine Forum. (You are not a member yet? register below).
Background: ICJ and the Legality/Illegality of the Israeli Occupation
On the 30th of December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly, quoting UN Charter and rules of IHL and IHRL along with the 2004 ICJ Wall advisory opinion, requested that the International Court of Justice renders an advisory opinion on the
“(a) What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination..
(b) How do the policies and practices of Israel referred to in paragraph … (a) above affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences .. for all States and the United Nations from this status”
The allegation of illegality is nothing new to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. The current UN Commission of Inquiry on Palestine/Israel (COI) recently finds that the Israeli occupation is unlawful under international law. A few years before that, the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Michael Lynk established a four-point threshold for occupation to be deemed illegal; (i) the Occupying Power has annexed the territory, (ii) the occupation breaches the principle of temporariness, (iii) the Occupying Power fails to act in the best interests of the occupied population, and (iv) where an Occupying Power conducts the administration of territory in bad faith, by for example, building settlements. Prof. Ralph Wilde in a legal opinion (summarized here) argued that the Israeli occupation has crossed the threshold of legality arguing that the “existential illegality of the occupation arises out of the simple fact of the occupation as a system of control and domination without a valid legal basis.”
This webinar, organized by Law for Palestine and in partnership with ARDD, gathering international law experts and lawyers and NGOs directly involved and having a first-hand experience with the issue at hand, aims to:
- Discuss and examine the findings of the UN COI’s report establishing the illegality of Israeli occupation.
- Overview the different legal opinions on the legal status of the Israeli occupation over the OPT.
- Discuss the legal jurisdiction of the ICJ over the matter and the responsibility, towards the involved parties and the third states, established by its awaited advisory opinions.
- Discuss the role of civil society and independent jurists in the ICJ proceedings.
Speakers:
- Miloon Kothari: Member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Palestine/Israel
- Giulia Pinazauti: International Criminal Law Expert – Leiden University
- Ralph Wilde: International Law expert – University College London
- Susan Power: Head of Research and Advocacy – Al-Haq
Moderator:
- Hassan Ben Imran: Board member, Law4Palestine
To participate in this discussion, you need to register for a membership within Jurists for Palestine Forum
You may register here, click
On the Table of the ICJ: The Legality/Illegality of Israeli Occupation and the Subsequent International Responsibility
