The International Court of Justice will be the body responsible for judging whether or not a crime is being committed. genocide in Gaza. His ruling is not expected soon but, when it is issued, it will be mandatory and cannot be appealed.

On January 26, the International Court of Justice responded to the request presented on December 29 of last year by South Africa to initiate proceedings against the State of Israel for alleged violations in the Gaza Strip of the obligations arising from the Convention on the Prevention and the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Countries such as Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya and Mexico had already joined this complaint and now they do so Spainas confirmed this Thursday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. Ireland and Belgium have also indicated their intention to intervene.

But, What is this court for? How is it different from the International Criminal Court?

What is the International Court of Justice?

Created in 1945, it is the main judicial organ of the United Nations. Based in The Hague, it is responsible for resolving two types of disputes: between countries or those commissioned by other UN organizations such as the Security Council or the General Assembly itself. But we must not confuse the International Court of Justice with the International Criminal Court. As Carlos de las Heras, head of Europe and the Middle East at Amnesty International, explains to laSexta, “the fundamental difference is that the first acts on countries and the second acts by individuals who can be tried for war crimes or crimes against humanity”.

In fact, it was the latter that recently launched international arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his Minister of Defense.

How important are their failures?

Its sentences are binding, that is, mandatory. Carlos de las Heras comments that “there is a peculiarity” and that is that “they are not appealable sentences.” “In case of non-compliance, you can appeal to the Security Council to enforce these sentences,” he explains. Although the last word would be the Security Council.

What other cases have you tried?

In 1984, Nicaragua demanded reparations from the United States for supporting the rebels contrary to his government. The Court then ruled in favor of Nicaragua but when it reached the Security Council, the United States vetoed the process.

And in 2020, the recent case of the Myanmar genocide against the Rogingya minority. A dispute for which Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s leader, had to appear, a dispute, another one… that has not yet been resolved.