Heidi Matthews Profile picture
Apr 26 14 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Former ICJ President Donoghue engages in the ethical error of obtuseness (thx @emilykiddwhite) when she attempts hairsplitting between plausible "rights" and "claims."

TL;DR the Court decided there was, at minimum, a serious risk of genocide or related acts in Gaza. 🧵
She was asked whether it was correct that the ICJ ruled there was a plausible case of genocide that should be decided by the Court.

Her answer to this question is technical and correct: The Court did not decide whether there was a plausible "claim" or "case" of genocide.
This was simply not the question before the Court at this stage of the proceedings. The Court was not asked to decide - nor was it open for it to decide - that South Africa had presented a plausible case of genocide against Israel. Instead, it was asked to order interim measures.
In order for the Court to order such measures it had to have been satisfied that there was prima facie jurisdiction in the case. (It found there was). Donoghue is pointing out that prima facie jurisdiction should not be interpreted as prejudging jurisdiction regarding the merits.
Note as well that the order of provisional measures should also not be interpreted as prejudging admissibility regarding the merits, or the merits themselves.
Now, Donoghue says the Court *did* decide that Palestinians in Gaza have a plausible right to be protected from genocide. To summarize, this ≠ 'the overall case is plausible.'
Note: part of what is obfuscatory here is that the Court will never be asked to decide this question.
This is because the 'plausibility' test is applied to the question of whether to order provisional measures; it's not relevant to jurisdiction or admissibility or the merits, which will all be decided later.
So, what does it mean to plausibly have the right to be protected from genocide? It means that the Court has assessed that the evidence adduced by South Africa establishes, at a minimum, that Palestinians in Gaza are at a serious risk of suffering genocide or related acts.
Note: South Africa claims that Israel has not only perpetrated, but has also failed in its obligation to prevent and punish, acts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide, attempted genocide and complicity in genocide.
The Court found that "at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa for which it is seeking protection are plausible" (para. 54). It hasn't told us which. This is a pretty large spectrum.
Not only did the Court to find the plausibility of the right to be protected from genocide, but it also found urgency. This means that, on the facts, the Court found "there is a real and imminent risk" that Palestinians in Gaza would be subjected to genocide or related acts.
It is understandable that commentators shortened the ICJ's finding that the "plausible rights of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from genocide and/or related acts are at real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice" to "plausible genocide."
Note: "Plausible genocide" *is consistent with* the Court's finding as articulated by Donoghue; it is also consistent with other findings on the spectrum of rights to which Palestinians in Gaza are entitled. The Court may well think genocide is underway - we just don't know.
Now for judicial ethics. The former President of the ICJ should not have publicly commented on a pending case. In doing so, she has given credence to false and bad faith interpretations of the Court's provisional measures decision. This risks the integrity of the proceedings.

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More from @Heidi__Matthews

Apr 18
Today the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution recommending Palestine for membership in the United Nations. 12 Council members voted in favour, with 2 abstaining (UK & Switzerland). Some 140 states already recognize the State of Palestine. A few notes 🧵
The UN law around admitting new members is rooted in Art 4 of the UN Charter. Once an application for membership is made, the Council must refer it to the Committee on the Admission of New Members. That Committee then assesses whether the conditions of Art 4 are met.
If there is consensus that they are met, a recommendation will be made to the Security Council, who will then vote on a resolution recommending admission of the applicant to the UN. At least 9 votes in favour are required, with no vetos.
Read 14 tweets
Apr 9
Today, the @CIJ_ICJ heard Germany's defence against Nicaragua's case alleging it has failed to prevent - and is complicit in - genocide in Gaza and serious violations of peremptory norms of international law.🧵

(My account of Nicaragua's case yesterday )
Germany says Nicaragua "has rushed to bring its case on the flimsiest of evidence". It says the ICJ doesn't have jurisdiction because of the absence of a dispute and the fact of Israel's non-consent to judicial resolution.
.@CJTams up for Germany:

Germany rejects Nicaragua's claim that Germany's facilitation of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza is a "pathetic excuse."

Let's see how this is construed as assuaging the impact of Germany's military trade with Israel...
Read 43 tweets
Apr 8
Today, the @CIJ_ICJ heard oral arguments from Nicaragua, which has brought a case against Germany alleging that in providing political, financial & military support to Israel, Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide & has failed in its obligation to prevent genocide.🧵
Nicaragua also alleges Germany is facilitating Israel's serious breaches of IHL & other peremptory norms of general international law in Gaza, including Palestinians' right to self-determination and right to not be subjected to a regime of apartheid.
Nicaragua has requested provisional measures against Germany, including an order that Germany shall:
-- immediately suspend aid to Israel, in particular military assistance;
-- immediately make efforts to ensure that weapons already delivered are not used to facilitate genocide;
Read 46 tweets
Mar 28
Today the ICJ decided that the deterioration of the "catastrophic living conditions" in Gaza since January 26, esp starvation, created a further real & imminent risk of genocide justifying the indication of additional provisional measures against Israel.🧵 icj-cij.org/sites/default/…
The Court found that Palestinians in Gaza had "been subjected" to "prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities" and that "famine is setting in." It characterized these developments as "exceptionally grave."
Today's measures modify the previous order in significant ways. First, the Court has spelled out in detail Israel's obligations wrt facilitating humanitarian aid. On Jan 26 the Court ordered Israel to "enable" basic services and aid; today it mandated Israel to "ensure" the same.
Read 12 tweets
Mar 25
The U.S. is unilaterally claiming that Security Council resolution 2728 is non-binding and therefore has no impact on its policy or the legality of Israel’s continued war. This is not so obvious… 🧵
First, interpreting UN Security Council resolutions is not straightforward. But basically, resolutions are meant to be expressions of the collective will of the council (n.b. since the U.S. abstained, it may not be best placed to unilaterally comment on it).
So the U.S. just asserting that the resolution is non-binding doesn't automatically make it so -- the U.S. is trying to advance a construction of the resolution that protects its legal position (here, in the context of continuing its foreign policy unchanged).
Read 7 tweets
Feb 26
Finally, the Maldives 🇲🇻

The Maldives is contextualizing its submissions in the context of water resources. It notes that water is the most vital resource in the occupied Palestinian territory.
"A tidal wave of suffering has been unleashed by Israeli policies and practices with respect to water resources, which are characterized by deprivation, denial, discrimination and destruction."
'Many Palestinians in Gaza simply have no access to potable water. Israel has seized control of water resources in the West Bank where water is distributed in a discriminatory manner.'
Read 23 tweets

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