Germany will Monday ask the top United Nations court to toss out a case brought against it by Nicaragua, which has accused Berlin of "facilitating genocide" with its support of Israel.
Lawyers for Germany will kick off four days of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the court based in The Hague that rules on disputes between countries.
The case dates back to 2024, following the start of Israel's offensive in Gaza. Nicaragua urged ICJ judges to impose emergency measures to force Berlin to halt all aid to Israel, in particular military equipment.
The court threw out Nicaragua's request in April of that year, saying "the circumstances, as they now present themselves" did not justify emergency orders.
The case is nevertheless ongoing and Germany is now seeking to have it removed, either by persuading judges they do not have the power to rule in the case or that Nicaragua's argument does not stack up.
Berlin has filed so-called "preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court and to the admissibility of certain claims" presented by Nicaragua, according to an ICJ statement.
The detail of Berlin's case has not yet been made public.
Genocide claim
After Germany presents its case on Monday, Nicaragua will respond before both countries get another chance to address the court on Wednesday and Thursday.
It takes on average six months for the court to hand down a ruling in such cases.
The court could either side with Germany and throw out the case completely or rule against Berlin, meaning the case would then be considered "on the merits" in more detail.
During hearings at the court in April 2024, Nicaragua said Germany was "pathetic" to provide aid to Gaza while also simultaneously furnishing Israel with weapons.
Nicaragua's ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, told the court: "Germany seems not to be able to differentiate between self-defence and genocide."
Germany retorted that Nicaragua's case was "grossly biased", strongly denying the accusations that it was in breach of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attacks against it by Hamas.
Due to its Nazi past, Germany has placed Israel's security "at the core" of its foreign policy, its representative told the court in the 2024 hearings.
Germany has been a staunch supporter of Israel for decades and is the second-largest supplier of arms to Israel after the United States.
Germany said its arms trade with Israel was subject to "detailed scrutiny... that far exceeds the requirements of international law".
Last year, Germany stopped authorizing any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza but later lifted those restrictions.
This procedure is separate from a high-profile case also before the ICJ, in which South Africa has accused Israel of perpetrating genocide in Gaza, which Israel denies.
Both South Africa’s case against Israel and Nicaragua’s case against Germany allege violations of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The convention was drawn up in the wake of the Holocaust to codify a new crime: genocide.
In January 2024, judges at the ICJ ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza. Two months later, the court told Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies.
South Africa says that Israel largely ignored those orders.
A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council and the largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide have both concluded that Israel is violating the treaty.
The ICJ's rulings are binding but it has no power to enforce them.
For example, it has ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, a demand that has fallen on deaf ears in the Kremlin.
The proceedings are the latest legal attempt to rein in Israel’s military campaign by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people, after South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the same court in 2023.
South Africa says that Israel largely ignored those orders.
Proceedings at the ICJ can take a long time to conclude
Both South Africa’s case against Israel and Nicaragua’s case against Germany allege violations of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The convention was drawn up in the wake of the Holocaust to codify a new crime: genocide.
A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council and the largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide have both concluded that Israel is violating the treaty but only an international court can make a legal determination.
Proceedings at the ICJ can drag on for years. In 2007, the court ruled that Serbia “violated the obligation to prevent genocide” in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, when Bosnian Serb forces rounded up and murdered some 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys in eastern Bosnia.
In May, the court set a November 2027 deadline for South Africa to file its written pleadings and gave Israel until May 2029 to reply. Hearings on the core question of the case — whether Israel committed genocide in Gaza — likely won’t be heard until late 2029 at the earliest.
In separate proceedings at the International Criminal Court, also in The Hague, which tries cases against individuals rather than between nations, judges have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in connection with the conflict.
The pair are charged with crimes against humanity, not genocide. The court said it found that there was reason to believe they used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.
In response, the United States has issued sanctions against many senior court staff, including nine of the ICC’s 18 judges.