Genocide in Gaza: Lawsuit Against the EU Commission and Council for “Inaction”
The Association of Jurists for the Respect of International Law (JURDI) is set to file a lawsuit on Thursday before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg against the EU Commission and Council for their “inaction” regarding the genocide in Gaza, according to media reports.
Representatives from JURDI will submit a “failure to act” appeal to the CJEU, challenging the Commission and Council’s lack of response to crimes committed by the Zionist entity government in Gaza, as reported by the news outlet “euobserver.com” on Tuesday.
This lawsuit represents a first in Europe: it is unprecedented for two European institutions to face prosecution before the CJEU for inaction regarding violations of international law.
The association’s legal team, which includes Belgian and French lawyers, as well as advisers from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and university professors, is dedicated to pursuing this case to its fullest extent.
On May 12, they issued a formal notice to both institutions, and now, two months later, they are calling for the initiation of proceedings.
The 90-page complaint is grounded in Article 265 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which penalizes negligent inaction by an EU institution.
Specifically, the document criticizes the fact that, over the past 21 months (since October 2023), the EU-Zionist entity association agreement has not been suspended, no sanctions or economic restrictions have been proposed against the occupying government, and no public position has been taken regarding the risk of genocide and documented crimes.
Following a request on May 20 from 17 European countries to review Article 2 of the association agreement linking the EU to the Zionist entity, the European Commission’s diplomatic service published a report detailing violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated by the Zionist occupiers.
The six-page report outlines numerous instances of violations, crimes, and abuses against the Palestinian population, both in Gaza and across the occupied territories, including in prisons and hospitals. However, it has yet to result in any significant action.
JURDI’s lawyers are now seeking an expedited procedure from the judges in Luxembourg to compel the Commission and Council to sever all commercial and political relations with the Zionist entity and to issue a political statement addressing the risk of genocide in Gaza.
In addition to suspending trade agreements and research and development projects, JURDI is also calling for halting financial transactions via the SWIFT system, imposing sanctions on certain members of the occupying government, and penalizing extremist settlers.
