In a newly published legal opinion, two of the world's leading experts on EU trade law have stated that Ireland is fully entitled to pass the Occupied Territories Bill and ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, criticising previous Attorney General advice relied upon to block it as "erroneous" and "at odds with settled EU case law".
The legal opinion is written by Professor Takis Tridimas, a leading EU law specialist who has served as legal advisor to the European Commission and European Parliament and whose work is frequently cited by the European Court of Justice and the Irish Supreme Court, and Professor Panos Koutrakos, three-time European Commission Jean Monnet Chair in EU law and Editor of the European Law Review.
It is published as a new campaign of civil society organisations, trade unions, academics and political figures is launched today, Wednesday 4th September, calling on the Government to pass the Occupied Territories Bill and on all political parties to commit to supporting it ahead of the upcoming general election.
The Bill, first tabled in 2018 by Independent Senator Frances Black and sponsored by Senators Alice-Mary Higgins and Lynn Ruane, would ban trade with the illegal Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land. It was passed in full by the Seanad before being introduced to the Dáil by Fianna Fáil, where a majority of TDs also voted in favour. Despite this, the current and previous Governments have refused to pass it based on advice from previous Attorneys General that, because trade rules are generally set at EU level, a national ban would breach EU law.
However, on Friday Taoiseach Simon Harris announced that he has asked the new Attorney General for “fresh advice” on this question in light of a recent historic ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In July the highest court in the world declared that the Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land were illegal and that all countries were obliged not to trade with them.
The ICJ found that all states must now: "abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory”, and “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
Professors Tridimas and Koutrakos state that while the Occupied Territories Bill was always compatible with EU law, last month's ICJ ruling adds even further strong support and that the Bill is now “necessary… as it gives effect to the duties” outlined by the ICJ. They argue that long-standing advice from previous Attorney General Seamus Woulfe, leaked in 2020 and one of the few such documents to be scrutinised in the public domain, has a series of major omissions and flaws.
The experts state that: "It is striking that the AG should have ignored the judgements in [two cases] where the European Court of Justice expressly held that Member States may deviate from EU law, including… on public policy grounds in order to protect fundamental rights... The analysis and conclusion in the AG Opinion that the Occupied Territories Bill is inconsistent with EU law [is] not only unconvincing but also at odds with settled ECJ case-law.”
Speaking at the campaign launch Senator Higgins said “The ICJ ruling is historic, not just in what it says about Israel’s repeated violations of international law and Palestinian rights, but what it means for the rest of us. The Court has made crystal clear that all countries, including Ireland, must immediately stop trading with Israel’s illegal settlements. Failure to do so makes us complicit. Statements of condemnation are not good enough, morally or legally. It’s time for action.”
