Israel has decided to send a team of legal experts to defend itself against accusations raised by South Africa that it is carrying out a genocide in Gaza.
The mere decision by Israel to send representatives is notable, as Israel generally refrains from engaging with such international institutions, viewing them as being biased against it.
But this time, the country decided to defend itself against such accusations. Israel takes this case seriously and appears to be betting that its team can present a convincing case against claims of genocide, helped in no small part by its leading member, Malcolm Shaw KC.
Read more: UN court hears South Africa genocide case against Israel
British barrister and friend of Israel
Shaw, a British barrister with extensive experience in humanitarian law and a professor at the University of Essex, is a renowned expert on international law, specific territorial disputes, and genocide. He is also a known friend of Israel who teaches a regular class at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and studied there.
The British lawyer can count on his wide experience: This is not the first time Shaw will appear in front of the International Court of Justice, as Shaw also represented the UAE, Serbia, and Cameroon in other cases.
He also took cases in front of other international institutions for Malaysia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Germany and Ireland. Shaw’s appointment means Israel chose expertise over showmanship, dashing, for instance, rumours that it could appoint controversial US lawyer and Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz.
Beyond the ICJ, Shaw appeared in front of as diverse entities as the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice, the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong, the High Court of Ireland, the UK Supreme Court, the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal and the High Court of England and international arbitral tribunals. He certainly is a formidable adversary to face in court.
Shaw also specifically knows the field in question, having written a book titled Genocide and International Law. Israel likely hopes that Shaw’s extensive experience will negate the arguments presented by South Africa’s own team, which presented its case yesterday.
The case relies both on evidence from Gaza and on a series of statements issued by various Israeli officials who called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza or used dehumanising language against them.
Shaw will indeed have to contend with the fact that many Israeli officials have made outrageous statements, though he may argue that those are mostly political and populistic in nature.
