Lawyers file case against EU Commission and Council for 'failure to act' on Gaza genocide

While we are all holding our breath for the possible initiatives against Israel that Kaja Kallas, the European High Representative for Foreign Affairs, could present on Tuesday (15 July) to the foreign affairs council, the lawyers of the JURDI Association (lawyers for the respect of international law), are taking action.

On Thursday, they will file an “action for failure to act” with the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg against the EU Commission and Council for their failure to act on the crimes committed by the Netanyahu government in Gaza.

This is a first: never before have two European institutions been brought before a court, in this case the European Court of Justice, for failure to act in the face of violations of international law.

The Franco-Belgian lawyers, including advisers to the International Criminal Court and university professors, are now trying to do just that.

And they are determined not to stop. They sent a letter of formal notice to the two institutions on 12 May and now, two months after that first warning, they are calling for proceedings to be opened.

The novelty is that the legal battle will take place 'in-house' — without the need to involve international conventions or courts.

The 90-page appeal is based on Article 265 of the EU Treaty, which aims to sanction a European institution for culpable inaction.

Double standard
In this case, the document states, “for failing to suspend, for 21 months (since October 2023), the EU-Israel Association Agreement, for failing to propose any sanctions or economic restrictions on the Netanyahu government, and for failing to take a public position on the risks of genocide and documented crimes”.

“Alongside the 18 packages of sanctions against Russia, proposed by the commission and approved (except for the 18th) by the council, there is a double standard with regard to Israel that has now become intolerable,” explains Alfonso Dorado, French criminal lawyer, advisor to the International Criminal Court, and one of the authors of the appeal.

The European Treaty provides for respect for international law, human dignity and fundamental rights, and gives the possibility to request sanctions if a third party does not respect EU principles.

Syria, Belarus, Myanmar, Russia...not Israel
This has been done with Syria, Belarus, Myanmar and, above all, with Russia. But nothing has been done with Israel. On the contrary, time continues to be wasted.

Following the request on 20 May by 17 European countries to open a review of Article 2 of the Association Agreement with Israel, the European Commission's diplomatic service published a report on violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli government.

Six pages full of countless cases of violations, crimes and abuses against the Palestinian population, both in Gaza and in the Occupied Territories, in prisons and hospitals...

https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar48acfd1a