French legal group to take EU to court for ‘failing to prevent Gaza genocide’
French and Belgian jurists are due to file a case before the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) on Thursday against the EU Commission and Council for alleged “failure to prevent genocide” in Gaza.
Legal proceedings will come on the back of the failure by EU ministers on Tuesday to agree on suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
A review of the deal had found that Israel is in breach of the human rights terms associated with the agreement.
The EU-Israel agreement provides for preferential trade terms, cooperation on research, culture and security, and a framework for political dialogue.
Its human rights clause, Article 2, states that respect for democratic principles and human rights is an essential element of the partnership.
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The case, which will be filed in Luxembourg, is the first to challenge the two EU institutions for failing to act in the face of grave violations of international law in occupied Gaza.
Israel's war on Gaza has been labelled a genocide by several EU members, including Spain, Ireland and Slovenia.
The case will be filed by Jurists for the Respect of International Law (Jurdi), a French NGO, which sent formal notices on 12 and 15 May to the Commission and Council.
They called for the suspension of cooperation agreements with Israel and for a halt to arms transfers amid the ongoing Israeli campaign, which is confirmed to have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in 21 months.
Jurdi is requesting that the CJEU formally acknowledge this failure to act, and order EU institutions to suspend cooperation with Israel, adopt targeted sanctions to fulfil their legal obligations to prevent the international crime of genocide.
Jurdi’s president, Patrick Zahnd, told Middle East Eye that the group is also requesting the court declare precautionary measures.
According to Jurdi, the European Commission incurs legal responsibility of EU institutions with respect to Articles 2, 3, 21, 29, and 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the EU–Israel Association Agreement and the peremptory norms of customary international law (jus cogens) applicable to both European institutions.
The case argues that the EU violated four principles of international law, including the obligation to prevent genocide, the duty to end impediments to the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, the prohibition on recognition of or assistance to an unlawful situation, such as prolonged occupation, and the obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, particularly in the face of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
On Tuesday, the EU’s 27 foreign ministers in Brussels failed to agree on the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
They also failed to agree on nine other possible measures against Israel put forward after it was found to have breached human rights provisions of the trade agreement.
The measures that would have been agreed on Tuesday included full suspension of the agreement, suspension of its preferential trade provisions, an arms embargo, sanctions on Israeli ministers, or imposing a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine.
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