In September, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations court that settles legal disputes between states, held hearings in Nicaragua v. Germany. Nicaragua alleges that Germany's support for Israel, including arms exports, violates Germany's obligations under international law, including the Genocide Convention. The September 7–10 hearings addressed only Germany's preliminary objections, which argue that the Court should not hear the case at all. They do not address the merits of the case. The Court has not yet ruled on the objections. If it rejects them, the case will move on to the merits.
Why Nicaragua? It is not a party to the conflict. It brought the case on the principle that all states party to the Genocide Convention share an interest in its enforcement, so any of them may bring a claim against another. The ICJ accepted this principle in The Gambia v. Myanmar (2022). For background, see this ASIL overview.
You can follow Nicaragua v. Germany, or any ICJ case, through its case page on the Court's website. Whether you're writing a paper, cite-checking, or tracking a case in the news, each page has:
- Judgments and orders. The Court's formal decisions.
- Written proceedings. The parties' written arguments and supporting documents. You can read these to find relevant treaties, earlier cases, and other sources.
- Oral proceedings. Transcripts of the hearings, called "verbatim records." Hearings are also webcast live and archived on UN Web TV, and the case page links to the videos.
- Press releases and summaries. Short overviews of hearings and decisions. They are a good way to get oriented before reading the full documents.
For more help researching ICJ cases or other topics in foreign and international law, contact Sunil Rao, Foreign and International Law Librarian, or stop by the Reference Desk.
Submitted by Sunil Rao, on September 30, 2026
This article appears in the categories: Law Library
