SAEDNEWS: A coalition of top French and Belgian jurists is taking the European Commission and Council to the EU’s highest court, accusing them of breaching international law by failing to act against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
According to Saed News, legal action spearheaded by French NGO Jurists for the Respect of International Law (Jurdi) is set to challenge the European Commission and Council at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg for what it calls a “failure to prevent genocide” in Gaza. The case, due to be filed Thursday, marks a historic first: no previous legal challenge has directly accused EU institutions of complicity through inaction in the face of alleged mass atrocities.
The move follows the EU’s failure earlier this week to reach consensus on suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, despite a review indicating Israel’s breach of the accord’s human rights clause, Article 2. That clause states unequivocally that respect for democratic values and human rights forms the bedrock of any cooperation with the EU.
Jurdi’s president, Patrick Zahnd, said the group had formally warned the Commission and Council in May, demanding a halt to arms transfers and suspension of bilateral cooperation. With over 60,000 Palestinians reportedly killed in Gaza since the war began, Zahnd contends that the EU’s inaction not only undermines its legal obligations under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union but violates four core tenets of international law—including the duty to prevent genocide and uphold the Palestinian right to self-determination.
Despite growing condemnation—including from EU members Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia, all of whom have used the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s conduct—Brussels’ foreign ministers failed to adopt any of the ten proposed punitive measures during Tuesday’s summit. These ranged from trade suspensions to an arms embargo and sanctions on Israeli officials.
Jurdi is now requesting that the CJEU impose interim measures and compel the EU to enact sanctions, potentially reshaping Europe’s legal and political approach to Israel’s occupation and military actions in Gaza.
