| Types | nonprofit organization  |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°34′53″N0°20′20″W / 51.58141112°N 0.3389544°W |
| Website | www |
International Centre of Justice for Palestinians or ICJP is a group of lawyers, academics and politicians [1] that makes public statements and organises legal actions in relation to the human rights of Palestinians. [2] [3] [4]
International Centre of Justice for Palestinians describes its aims as supporting the human rights of Palestinians. [1]
In May 2024, Tayab Ali was the director of the ICJP. [4] ICJP membership consists of lawyers, academics and politicians. [1]
In August 2023, following a report by The Guardian suggesting an attempt by the Israeli Embassy in the UK to influence a court case, ICJP issued a statement "strongly condemn[ing]" what it described as the Israeli Embassy attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to court cases related to actions by Palestine Action. [2]
In October and November 2023, ICJP submitted a legal analysis to the parliament of the United Kingdom, giving advice on UK relations with the Middle East and North Africa in relation to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the proposed two-state solution. [1]
In November 2023, ICJP stated to Canadian government officials that it would file court cases against Canadian politicians involved in war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war committed by Israelis. The ICJP referred to Canadian obligations under Article 25(3)(c) and (d) of the Rome Statute not to aid and abet the commission of war crimes and to possible investigations and prosecutions by the International Criminal Court or under universal jurisdiction. [5]
In April 2024, ICJP stated that if evidence were fund that the Elbit Hermes 450 drone responsible for the World Central Kitchen aid convoy attack were made in the UK, then pressure would increase to stop UK arms sales to Israel. [3]
In May 2024, ICJP stated that the ban on the entry of Glasgow University rector Ghassan Abu-Sittah into Schengen Area countries, including Germany and France, was a violation of freedom of speech. ICJP stated that it was requesting lawyers in France and Germany to take action in opposition to the ban. [4]
The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The ICC is distinct from the International Court of Justice, an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states.
Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows states or international organizations to claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused person regardless of where the alleged crime was committed, and regardless of the accused's nationality, country of residence, or any other relation to the prosecuting entity. Crimes prosecuted under universal jurisdiction are considered crimes against all, too serious to tolerate jurisdictional arbitrage. The concept of universal jurisdiction is therefore closely linked to the idea that some international norms are erga omnes, or owed to the entire world community, as well as to the concept of jus cogens – that certain international law obligations are binding on all states.
A court-martial or court martial is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Conventions require that POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding military's own forces. Finally, courts-martial can be convened for other purposes, such as dealing with violations of martial law, and can involve civilian defendants.
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as foreign nationals. Together with war crimes, genocide, and the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity are one of the core crimes of international criminal law, and like other crimes against international law have no temporal or jurisdictional limitations on prosecution.
Irwin Cotler is a retired Canadian politician who was Member of Parliament for Mount Royal from 1999 to 2015. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul Martin lost power following the 2006 federal election. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election in November 1999, winning 92% of votes cast.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights since the Six-Day War of 1967. It previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to Israel's victory in the Six-Day War, occupation of the Palestinian territories was split between Egypt and Jordan, with the former having occupied the Gaza Strip and the latter having annexed the West Bank; the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights were under the sovereignty of Egypt and Syria, respectively. The first conjoined usage of the terms "occupied" and "territories" with regard to Israel was in United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which was drafted in the aftermath of the Six-Day War and called for: "the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East" to be achieved by "the application of both the following principles: ... Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict ... Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
Israel's policies and actions in its ongoing occupation and administration of the Palestinian territories have drawn accusations that it is committing the crime of apartheid. Leading Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights groups have said that the totality and severity of the human rights violations against the Palestinian population in the occupied territories, and by some in Israel proper, amount to the crime against humanity of apartheid. Israel and some of its Western allies have rejected the accusation, with Israel and others often labeling the charge antisemitic.
International human rights organizations, along with the United Nations, and the United States Department of State, have reported human rights violations committed by the State of Israel, particularly against minority groups. These reports include violations of the rights of Palestinians, both inside and outside Israel as well as other groups in Israel.
Raji Sourani is a human rights lawyer and the director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL) strives to advance human rights everywhere, including the prevention of war crimes, the punishment of war criminals, the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction, and international co-operation based on the rule of law and the fair implementation of international covenants and conventions.
Karim Asad Ahmad Khan is a British lawyer specialising in international criminal law and international human rights law, who has served as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since 2021.
The International Criminal Court's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, provides that individuals or organizations may submit information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. These submissions are referred to as "communications to the International Criminal Court".
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner is an Israeli attorney, human rights activist, and the founder of Shurat HaDin – Israeli Law Center. As the president of the Shurat HaDin, she has represented hundreds of terror victims in legal actions against terror organizations and their supporters. Darshan-Leitner initiated a legal campaign to deprive terrorists of social media resources such as Facebook and Twitter. Darshan-Leitner assisted in blocking the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
Israel–United Kingdom relations, or Anglo-Israeli relations, are the diplomatic and commercial ties between the United Kingdom and Israel. The British embassy to Israel is located in Tel Aviv. The UK has an honorary consul in Eilat and a non-accredited consulate-general in Jerusalem, that represents the United Kingdom in that city and the Palestinian territories. Israel has three representative offices in the United Kingdom: an Embassy located in London and consulates in Cardiff and Glasgow.
William Anthony Schabas, OC is a Canadian academic specialising in international criminal and human rights law. He is professor of international law at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, professor of international human law and human rights at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and an internationally respected expert on human rights law, genocide and the death penalty.
Al-Haq is a Palestinian non-governmental human rights organization based in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank. Founded in 1979, Al-Haq monitors and documents human rights violations committed by parties to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, issuing reports on its findings and producing detailed legal studies. It is in special consultative status with ECOSOC since 2000.
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, on 20 December 2019 announced an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed in Palestine by members of the Israeli military or Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups since 13 June 2014.
Since the start of the Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the UN Human Rights Council has identified "clear evidence" of war crimes by both Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces. A UN Commission to the Israel–Palestine conflict stated that there is "clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed in the latest explosion of violence in Israel and Gaza, and all those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable." On 27 October, a spokesperson for the OHCHR called for an independent court to review potential war crimes committed by both sides.
Ghassan Soleiman Abu-Sittah is a British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specialises in craniofacial surgery, aesthetic surgery, cleft lip and palate surgery, and trauma-related injuries. Since April 2024, he serves as Rector of the University of Glasgow.
South Africa's genocide case against Israel was brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 29 December 2023 by South Africa regarding Israel's conduct in the Gaza Strip as part of the Israel–Hamas war. The case is officially known as Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip .