ICJ’s Provisional Order of 24 May in South Africa’s Case Against Israel: An Example of How Not To Couch a Judicial Opinion?

Abstract

This brief essay analyses the provisional order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued on 24 May 2024 in South Africa’s application against Israel regarding the alleged violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) in the Gaza Strip. This essay focuses on the ambivalent scope of the Court’s observation on the cessation of the military operation in Rafah. It argues that an exercise in ambivalence, by choice or chance, may be the prerogative of an academic legal exercise but should never ever be an option for a court. 

Keywords: International Court of Justice (ICJ), Genocide, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, South Africa, crime, international court