Public hearings to focus on objections to court’s jurisdiction, admissibility of certain claims
The United Nations’ principal judicial body will hold public hearings in September on preliminary objections raised by Germany challenging its jurisdiction in a case brought by Nicaragua alleging breaches of international obligations in respect of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the court said Friday.
According to a statement by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the hearings in the case, titled “Alleged Breaches of Certain International Obligations in respect of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Nicaragua v Germany),” will take place September 7 to 10.
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Nicaragua filed an application instituting proceedings against Germany on March 1, 2024, alleging violations of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, as well as “intransgressible principles of international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law” in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip.
Arguing that each contracting party to the Genocide Convention has a duty to do everything possible to prevent genocide, Nicaragua said that since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, there has been “a recognised risk of genocide against the Palestinian people, directed first of all against the population of the Gaza Strip.”
It argues that Germany is facilitating genocide by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and defunding the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA.
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Germany filed preliminary objections October 21, 2025, arguing that the ICJ lacks jurisdiction to hear the case and that certain claims in Nicaragua’s memorial, its written submission of arguments and evidence, are inadmissible. The proceedings on the merits were therefore suspended pending a ruling on those objections.
Germany will present its first round of oral arguments September 7, followed by Nicaragua on September 8. Germany will make its second round of arguments September 9, with Nicaragua concluding September 10.
