Judicial Supervision of Countering Terrorism: The Case of Palestine

Abstract

Obligations of member states under the UN Charter prevail in cases of a conflict with obligations under any other international agreement. Such conflict did not play a significant role in UN practice and international cooperation for more than 40 years. A new test case for international and regional courts may become military operation Cast Lead against Gaza that Israel launched on 27 December 2008 under the pretext of self-defence against terrorism. The alleged violations of international law and human rights law during the armed conflict in Gaza between 27th of December 2008 and 19th of January 2009 induced League of Arab States (LAS) to commission for first time in its history an independent fact finding committee (IFFC) to give a factual and legal assessment of situation in Gaza resulting from military operation and to recommend legal ways and means to hold any violators of international law and humanitarian law accountable. Keywords: countering terrorism; human rights law; independent fact finding committee (IFFC); international law; Israel; judicial supervision; League of Arab States (LAS); Palestine; UN charter