Regarding the #genocide case before the International Court of Justice (#ICJ), brought up by #SouthAfrica against #Israel, the Israeli foreign ministry announced yesterday that it has submitted its counter-memorial to the court.
The deadline for this had originally been July 28th 2025. It had been extended upon requests made by Israel, first to January 12th 2026, and then again to March 12th 2026.
It is expected that the first (written) part of the procedure will continue, with the ICJ setting a timetable for a reply by #SouthAfrica, and a subsequent rejoinder by Israel.
The respective content of the submissions in the written phase is defined in Article 49 of the Rules of Court:
»
A Memorial shall contain a statement of the relevant facts, a statement of law, and the submissions.
A Counter-Memorial shall contain: an admission or denial of the facts stated in the Memorial; any additional facts, if necessary; observations concerning the statement of law in the Memorial; a statement of law in answer thereto; and the submissions.
The Reply and Rejoinder, whenever authorized by the Court, shall not merely repeat the parties’ contentions, but shall be directed to bringing out the issues that still divide them.« (emphasis added)