🔶 Germany’s defense in The Hague: arms exports to Israel

Germany, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, while defending its arms exports to Israel, said that these exports are compatible with international law.

Tania von Uzelar-Gleisach—Germany’s legal representative—at the start of hearings in The Hague said: “All of Germany’s arms exports to Israel and other countries are subject to stringent review procedures that are even stricter than international regulations.”

Nicaragua, by filing a complaint against Germany accusing it of “complicity in genocide,” has brought the case before the International Court of Justice.

According to the allegations in the complaint, Germany’s arms exports violate the Genocide Convention because these weapons are used by Israel in attacks on the Gaza Strip.

At the start of the multi-day hearing sessions, Germany’s legal representative rejected these claims as baseless and denied them. According to him, the comprehensive documents that Germany publishes about its arms exports show that these exports comply with international law.

Germany’s representative asked the International Court of Justice to reject Nicaragua’s request to halt Germany’s arms exports to Israel.

In 2024, Germany prevailed in the first round of this case. At the time, the highest judges of the United Nations rejected Nicaragua’s request for an urgent order.

Following that decision, Germany was not required to immediately stop its arms exports to Israel. However, the judges did not agree to Germany’s request to fully dismiss Nicaragua’s complaint.

Legal representatives for Germany, in the current hearing sessions, are trying to prevent the case from moving to the stage of a consideration on the merits.

The arguments of Germany’s representatives have mainly focused on why, in their view, the International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Nicaragua will respond to these arguments tomorrow, Tuesday, August 8 (September 17). The time of the judges’ ruling is not yet known.