International Court of Justice: Germany considers Nicaragua's Gaza lawsuit to be inadmissible

A four-day hearing on Nicaragua's lawsuit against Germany began this Monday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Nicaragua accuses Germany of complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza. The federal government considers Nicaragua's lawsuit to be inadmissible.

Nicaragua sued Germany in March 2024, around five months after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the start of subsequent Israeli military operations in Gaza. The Central American state accuses the Federal Republic of violating its obligations under the UN Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions on International Humanitarian Law by supplying arms to Israel. Authoritarian Nicaragua, which is linked to Russia, is not involved in the Middle East conflict, but feels committed to the Palestinian cause.

As early as April 2024, the ICJ rejected Nicaragua's urgent requests for an immediate stop to German arms deliveries to Israel. At this point, Germany had hardly delivered any weapons to Israel.

The main proceedings now began in The Hague. However, it is initially limited to questions of admissibility. The hearing is scheduled for four days – Monday to Thursday. On Monday, Julia Monar, head of the legal department at the Foreign Office, supported by three law professors, presented German objections to the procedure.

Germany considers Nicaragua's lawsuit to be inadmissible because at the time of the lawsuit there was no dispute under international law between the two states. Nicaragua accused Germany in a diplomatic letter and then, without waiting for an answer, sued Germany just a month later.

In addition, according to Monar, Nicaragua's lawsuit means that the ICJ must decide primarily on Israel's actions in Gaza - without Israel being involved in this legal dispute. That also makes the lawsuit inadmissible.

Nicaragua can respond to Germany's objections on Tuesday. A decision on the admissibility of Nicaragua's lawsuit is not expected until early 2027. If the ICJ declares the lawsuit admissible, the next step will be to discuss whether Germany has violated international law.

However, the German diplomat Monar used the current negotiation to address the content of Nicaragua's allegations. From 2024 onwards, Germany will not have delivered any military weapons to Israel that can be used in the Gaza conflict. From August 2025 to November 2025, the export permit for other armaments, including parts of war weapons such as tank gearboxes, was also restricted to products that cannot be used in Gaza.

Since then, exports have been approved again in view of the “ceasefire” of October 2025, said Monar. International law is always observed when issuing export permits.

Monar emphasized that Germany is not against the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict. Germany is committed to a two-state solution and criticizes illegal Israeli settlements and the violence caused by radical settlers. Germany is the largest financial supporter of the Palestinian aid organization UNRWA.

The representative of Germany did not comment on Israel's actions in Gaza. However, this is the subject of another process before the ICJ. There is a lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel. On this basis, the ICJ has already issued emergency decisions several times and called on Israel to comply with its obligations under international law. It is plausible that the right of the Palestinian population not to become victims of genocide is at risk, the ICJ said. Oral hearings in these proceedings will not take place before 2029.

The Berlin organization ECCHR (European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights) accused Germany on Monday of approving permits for the export of tank parts and armored vehicle parts to Israel worth 110 million euros in 2025. Components of this type were used in Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon that violated international law.