What would happen if ICJ orders ‘provisional measures’ against Israel?

The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest international human rights court, is set to issue its ruling on Friday in the case submitted by South Africa against Israel for a ceasefire and to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

South Africa has submitted a request for provisional measures (temporary ruling), per which Israel, which was accused of “genocidal intent” against the Palestinians, must stop its war on the besieged Gaza Strip, as the number of Palestinians killed by Israel has risen to more than 25,400 people since October 7, 2023.

In case the ICJ orders a ruling of provisional measure in the case until the final ruling, its ruling will be binding on Israel as a party to the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention), said law scholar, former Egyptian Vice President, and former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed El Baradei on his X account (formerly Twitter).

El Baradei clarified that if Israel abstains from complying with such a ruling, then South Africa could resort to the UN Security Council, under the UN Charter, to take proper measures for executing the ruling, like imposing economic sanctions.

“It will be difficult for any member state to veto the ICJ ruling, because they are member states of the Genocide Convention. Also, other countries can apply secondary sanctions on Israel in case it does not abide by the court ruling,” he added.

أنا المحامي " النبطشى" يانور :) 
إذا أصدرت المحكمة امراً بوقف العمليات الحربية، كاجراء مؤقت لحين الحكم النهائي، يكون الحكم ملزماً على اسرائيل كطرف في اتفاقية منع الابادة الجماعية 
إذا لم تلتزم اسرائيل يمكن لجنوب افريقيا طبقا لميثاق الأمم المتحدة ان تلجأ لمجلس الأمن لاتخاذ ما… https://t.co/kvEpPdwMyI

— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) January 24, 2024

For three hours of argument on January 11, a 14-advocate team from South Africa presented evidence to the court of how Israel has violated the Genocide Convention, showing photos and videos of horrific scenes of Gazans being bombed and their systematic forced displacement, in addition to evidence of Israeli officials calling for the annihilation of the Palestinians.

The provisional measure order is an interim legally binding decision to preserve a court party’s rights in disputes. The issue of a provisional measure means that the case is a priority to be considered at the court, as the final ruling could take years.

The court had previously ordered provisional measures in the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar and asked the government of Myanmar to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts against the minority Rohingya in 2019. 

It also ordered in March 2022 that Russia should halt its military operation in Ukraine. Despite the court’s ruling, Russia has not yet complied.