The Forthcoming ICJ Advisory Opinion and the Question of Palestine

In December 2022, the plenary of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the principal judicial organ of the UN – on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. 

The Diakonia IHL Centre seeks to organize a roundtable discussion with a view to exploring the legal questions that the Court has been asked to address in the forthcoming advisory opinion, and how these may relate to current events. The Centre hopes that addressing these questions will provide some clarity about the legal issues at stake and offer the opportunity to critically reflect on the prospects for change in light of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Israel and the oPt.

The event will feature two speakers who are experts in international law as well as the wider political and humanitarian context in Israel and the oPt: Susan Akram, Professor of Law at Boston University, and Dr. Marco Longobardo, Reader in International Law at University of Westminster. Speakers will offer brief remarks followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A session open to the public via Zoom.