Mr. Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs 37 quai d'Orsay 75700 Paris SP 07 On November 21, 2025 in Paris, Mr. Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
However, in an official statement dated November 27, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that "the immunities of States not party to the ICC (...) apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and will have to be taken into consideration if the ICC were to request their arrest and surrender.".
The same statement added that "in accordance with the historic friendship that binds France to Israel, two democracies committed to the rule of law and respect for a professional and independent judiciary, France intends to continue to work closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East.".
One year later, our association Jurists for Respect for International Law (JURDI) asks you to renounce this declaration for two main reasons: it contradicts France's international commitments; it also contradicts the observation that Israel is no longer a rule-of-law state.
First reason: the Rome Statute, which has been ratified by France and all the member states of the European Union, does not recognize any immunity for political leaders prosecuted for having committed international crimes (art. 27) and requires States Parties to cooperate with the Court for the investigations, prosecutions and trials of persons who have been the subject of an arrest warrant (art. 59, 86, 87, 89, 93 and 98).
The declaration of November 27, 2024 is therefore in contradiction with the Rome Statute but also with the positions traditionally defended by France and European states regarding the necessary application of the decisions of the ICC, including all the arrest warrants it issues.
However, the ICC has repeatedly ruled, with regard to individuals subject to arrest warrants issued by the Court and transmitted to States Parties, that the immunity of heads of state of non-ICC States recognized under customary international law is not applicable to the ICC and its member states. It reiterated this position on October 24, 2024, on the occasion of Vladimir Putin's visit to Mongolia in September 2024, recalling that Mongolia, a State Party, had failed to fulfill its international obligations under the Rome Statute and, more specifically, its obligation to cooperate with the ICC.
Therefore, there is no valid reason that allows a State party to the Rome Statute – such as France – to recognize immunity for persons prosecuted by the Court, including a head of state.
Second reason: Israel is no longer a state governed by the rule of law, as it is unable to ensure equality before the law and the absence of arbitrary action by its authorities, guaranteeing respect for fundamental civil and political rights and the rule of law for all. This situation has been led to a conclusion by an accumulation of court decisions contrary to international law, systematic discriminatory practices, and institutional reforms.
First, since the 1990s, the Israeli Supreme Court has authorized, in violation of international law, the arbitrary detention of Palestinians, inhuman and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees, the "controlled" use of torture during interrogations of Palestinians, the targeted killings of civilians, the establishment and expansion of settlements in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the construction of the separation wall in Palestinian territory, the expulsion of Palestinians abroad, the systematic rejection of Palestinian appeals against decisions of the Israeli military authority, and the deliberate deprivation of essential goods from civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, Israeli judicial authorities routinely apply a segregationist legal system in which Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are subject to Israeli civil law and courts, while Palestinians are subject to military law, which authorizes arbitrary arrests and detentions and proceedings conducted before military courts that offer no procedural guarantees. This system and its accompanying judicial practices institutionalize structural inequality before the law and facilitate the direct and arbitrary repression of the Palestinian population. It was described in the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of July 19, 2024, which concluded that Israel violates the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid by adopting a regime of general restrictions imposed on Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory that constitutes "systemic discrimination based on race, religion, or ethnic origin.".
Finally, the adoption on July 19, 2018, of a law with constitutional status defining Israel as "the nation-state of the Jewish people" legally validates and expands this unjust legal regime. This text affirms that "The State of Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, who exercise therein their natural, cultural, religious, and historical right to self-determination. The realization of this right to national self-determination in the State of Israel is reserved to the Jewish people alone." This constitutional law violates the principle of equality before the law, which is central to the rule of law. It legalizes numerous laws restricting the property rights, freedom of movement, political participation, and freedom of expression of Palestinian citizens in Israel.
Some even prevent family reunification or the construction of housing in certain areas. It allows for the possibility, as on November 10, 2025, of the first reading vote on the bill aimed at applying the death penalty solely to Palestinians. Our association, Lawyers for the Respect of International Law (JURDI), therefore asks you, in accordance with the commitments of France and the member states of the European Union, to amend this declaration and reiterate that France will comply with the decisions of the ICC and that it urges Israel to undertake profound reforms with a view to restoring the rule of law.
The President of JURDI,
Patrick ZAHND
