On April 30, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) voted 15-1 to reject Nicaragua’s case calling for a provisional order to be issued for Germany to stop arming Israel, and to renew funding for UNRWA in Nicaragua v. Germany; but at the same time the court left the case open and will continue the requested investigation—which is expected to take years.
ICJ President Nawaf Salam explained the court’s decision, as reported by Financial Times: “Based on the factual information and legal arguments presented by the parties, the court concludes that, as present, the circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power … to indicate provisional measures.” He added that the court rejected an application by Germany for the case to be thrown out altogether, and would continue to investigate. “[The ICJ] remains deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which they have been subjected,” said Salam. He added that the court “considers it particularly important to remind all states of their international obligations relating to the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict, in order to avoid the risk that such arms might be used” to violate international law.
