Germany asks ICJ to dismiss Nicaragua's case over arms exports to Israel
Germany has asked the International Court of Justice to throw out a case brought by Nicaragua accusing it of breaching the Genocide Convention through arms sales to Israel. Nicaragua insists the case should proceed since both countries are signatories to the convention.
Germany appeared before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Monday, asking judges to dismiss a case filed by Nicaragua that accuses Berlin of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention by supplying weapons to Israel during its war with Hamas in Gaza.
Nicaragua argues that Germany, through its arms sales, has aided and abetted potential genocide in Gaza, claiming some of the exported weapons have been used in the conflict. A 2024 attempt by Nicaragua's legal team to secure an emergency order halting the exports failed, but Germany also failed at that time to get the case dismissed outright.
Germany contends that Nicaragua did not follow the required procedural steps before filing its case and that much of the dispute falls outside the ICJ's jurisdiction. Julia Monar, legal adviser to the German Foreign Ministry, told judges that all German arms exports, including those to Israel, undergo review procedures stricter than international standards require.
Nicaragua, meanwhile, maintains the case merits a hearing because both it and Germany are signatories to the Genocide Convention, even though neither country is directly party to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Background and next steps
Germany suspended arms exports to Israel for roughly three months in 2025 amid the ongoing conflict, later resuming them following a truce that largely halted the fighting. In May, Germany's Bundestag disclosed that around €167 million worth of exports were approved between November 2025 and this past March.
Nicaragua's case draws on South Africa's separate lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ, in which judges found it plausible that Israel could have committed genocidal acts in Gaza, though a full hearing isn't expected until 2029. Nicaragua is set to present its arguments in The Hague on Tuesday, with a ruling on Germany's dismissal request expected later this year.
