Concerns Over Case at the ICJ

In an interview with i24 News on Thursday evening, international lawyer Natasha Hausdorff was asked about the strength of South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), after the first of two days of hearings.

Her view was that in factual and legal terms the case has no substance. But, she said, the practice of what has become known as ‘lawfare’ depends on political agendas masquerading as legal argument rather than purely legal arguments.

Natasha also expressed the concern that, even if the ICJ essentially rules that Israel has no case to answer and declines South Africa’s application for provisional measures, there is no doubt that damage has already been done. Supporters of Hamas will use the proceedings to their advantage in furthering their cause - something that was seen immediately on Thursday evening.

Whether Israel will get a fair hearing in the proceedings depends upon the submissions made on Friday 12th January, when Malcolm Shaw, an English barrister and professor of international law, was due to make the case on behalf of the State of Israel.

Another one of Natasha’s concerns is that if the ICJ finds against Israel without criticism, there will be an endless parade of terror organisations and other criminal groups coming to the court to further their causes. In relation to that, it is worth noting that Iran rejoined the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ in June 2023.

She went on to note that there are serious problems that the rules of the ICJ have led to a situation like this. The ICJ has decided for itself that it has authority to issue interim measures simply on the basis of plausibility. The court has given itself an excuse for an interim order against Israel even with an entirely meritless case such as this one.

You can watch the interview in full here: