On 10 February 2025, we submitted a response to the Dutch Government's arguments in the case Ziada v NL concerning the applicability of blanket immunities by Dutch courts to protect Israeli officials from individual civil responsibility for war crimes. This response to the Dutch government’s submissions, builds on our original application filed last year. The case concerns a Dutch Palestinian man whose family was killed by the Israeli Defence Forces during “operation protective edge” in 2014. The Dutch courts refused to hear his civil suit, brought against Israeli officials, on the basis that they were 'immune' from legal action. The case challenges the proposition that blanket immunities can apply to systematic war crimes at this stage in the development of international law, or that the Court can block a civil claim on this basis with no regard for the implications for victims, including where the lack of any alternative remedies mean a denial of justice.
In a discussion on 12 February I will explain the case, and we will hear from the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, on the broader context of the elusive quest for justice for crimes committed in Gaza/Palestine. The event is organised by, and with participation of, The Nuhanovic Foundation & the ELSC at Humanity Hub in the Hague.