Judges at the International Court of Justice decided on Tuesday not to issue an emergency order to Germany to stop arms exports to Israel but stressed that they remain deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza.
However, the court did not grant Berlin’s request to dismiss the case.
Nicaragua has asked the court, known as the World Court, to order Germany to stop arms exports to Israel and to continue funding the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, arguing the existence of a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.
The court declined to issue any order on the grounds that the current circumstances presented by Nicaragua are not such that the court should issue emergency measures.
“The court remains deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, particularly in view of the prolonged and widespread shortages of food and other basic necessities,” said presiding judge Nawaf Salam.
Germany has been one of Israel’s biggest allies since the Hamas attack on October 7th last year and one of Israel’s biggest arms suppliers. According to the data of the Ministry of Economy, in 2023 it supplied this country with weapons and military equipment worth 326.5 million euros.
German Foreign Ministry Legal Adviser Tania von Uslar-Gleichen told International Court of Justice (ICJ) judges in early April that Nicaragua’s claim was premature, based on weak evidence and should be dismissed because the court lacked jurisdiction.
She emphasized that German arms exports are carefully monitored to ensure compliance with international law.
Germany’s lawyer, Christian Tams, told the court that as of October 7th, 98 percent of arms exports to Israel were general equipment such as vests, helmets and binoculars. Of the four cases in which arms exports were approved, three related to non-combat weapons such as training ammunition, he said.
A final ICJ ruling could take years and the court has no power to enforce its implementation.
E.Dz.
