International law professor Boyle backs SA's genocide case against Israel
American law professor, Francis Boyle, believes South Africa is well-poised to at least get the court to agree to provisional measures which will be presented at a hearing in The Hague on Thursday to force Israel to stop military operations in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice, which has its seat in The Hague, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Picture: https://www.icj-cij.org/home
CAPE TOWN - This week will be a big one for South Africa on the international stage when it will ask the world’s highest court to consider whether Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
Government is getting a vote of confidence from the first human rights lawyer to ever win a genocide case in the International Court of Justice.
American law professor, Francis Boyle, believes South Africa is well-poised to at least get the court to agree to provisional measures which will be presented at a hearing in The Hague on Thursday to force Israel to stop military operations in Gaza.
Boyle, an international law professor, successfully won the first genocide case against Bosnia in 1993.
He said South Africa had put a cogent case before the United Nation’s highest court and had a formidable legal team to argue it.
"Based upon my readings of your application and request for provisional measures of protection, I believe South Africa will win."
The court has said Thursday’s hearing will only deal with South Africa’s request for Israel to immediately stop the attacks in Gaza and it could be some time before the court rules on the substantive matter of genocide.
"It will be a cease-and-desist order against Israel to cease and desist all acts of genocide against the Palestinians."
Boyle believes the court could issue such an order within a week of the two-day hearings.