Statement on the High Court Judgment in R (Al-Haq) v Secretary of State for Business and Trade from ICJP 

Tayab Ali, Director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians; Partner and Head of International Law at Bindmans LLP (London, 30th June 2025): 

We are disappointed by the High Court’s refusal to grant permission for judicial review, but recognise the significant steps made in the course of this case so far. The Court accepted the government’s own finding that Israel is not committed to compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL). The Court accepted that there is a clear risk that UK-manufactured F-35 components may be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL in Gaza. These findings are profoundly serious, and without Al-Haq’s claim the government may well have continued to deny these facts.

Yet despite those acknowledgements, the Court held that the legality of the UK’s decision to continue F-35 exports is not a matter that the courts can properly decide. We believe that the Court was wrong in law to conclude that the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention, the Arms Trade Treaty, or customary international law are non-justiciable. The government must be held to account – in the Courts and in the court of public opinion – on these well-evidenced risks of atrocity crimes. 

ICJP commends the efforts of Al-Haq, the Global Legal Action Network, interveners in this case, and those who provided their eyewitness testimony. Without them, the troubling reality may not have been exposed: that the UK government can acknowledge the risk of war crimes, admit the likely involvement of British-supplied weapons, and still continue exports to the perpetrators – shielded from judicial scrutiny.

ICJP remains committed to pursuing all available legal avenues to end the UK’s complicity in serious violations of international law. We have worked to support this case for over 18 months and will continue to do so should an appeal be launched.

ICJP echoes the words of Shawan Jabarin, Al-Haq General Director: “Despite the outcome of today, this case has centred the voice of the Palestinian people and has rallied significant public support, and it is just the start. This is what matters, that we continue on all fronts in our work to defend our collective human values and work towards achieving justice for the Palestinians.”

The full ruling as handed down on 30th June can be accessed via the National Archives.

ICJP is a legal organisation based in London, working to uphold international law and defend the rights of Palestinians.For more information or for media inquiries, please contact the ICJP news desk at press@icjpalestine.com.