Legal Updates & Events

• 27 March 2021
  

  Afghan victims of Dutch bombardment seek justice in The Netherlands

  On 29 March 2021 Dutch Human Rights lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld will be representing four Afghan victims of a Dutch bombardment near the town of Chora in 2007, in a civil suit before the Dutch District Court of The Hague. Between 40 and 80 civilians lost their lives or were injured in what has come to be known as the Battle of Chora. The plaintiffs consider the Dutch attack disproportionate and claim the Dutch State’s liability for their damages. The Nuhanovic Foundation supports the case. For online attendance of the court hearing check www.rechtspraak.nl

• 3 March 2021
  

  Disclosure Italian-American agreement on the use of Italy’s Sigonella Airbase for US drones a step closer

  On 19 February, Italy’s highest administrative tribunal in Rome (Consiglio di Stato) reversed the Italian regional tribunal’s (Tar) decision that a request for access to information on the legal framework regulating the presence and use of US drones at and from Sigonella Airbase on Sicily is inadmissible on procedural grounds. The request was filed by ECCHR under Italy’s Freedom of Information Act. The Consiglio di Stato’s decision enables ECCHR to finally get a decision on the merits by the Tar. This article (in Italian) sets out how ECCHR’s legitimate request was opposed by the Italian government and obstructed by the regional administrative tribunal of Rome.

• 4 January 2021
  

  Immunity in case against IDF officers

  Brilliant article by Kate Clark on the legal hurdles encountered by the Dutch-Palestinian Ismail Ziada in his attempt to sue two former Israeli military officials in The Netherlands. In her article Clark (head research division Nuhanovic Foundation and PhD candidate at UvA) sets out how state sovereignty and the immunity of states and their officials have been impeding this Dutch-Palestinian victim of Israeli military violence from finding justice. A must read for anyone with access to the Journal of International Criminal Justice of 25 December 2020.

  Visit our Ziada page for more information about this landmark case. 

• 4 January 2021
  

  More Drones, more war

  Against the backdrop of the disastrous Hawija bombing in Iraq in 2015, this article appeared in Dutch newspaper NRC on 28 December 2020 arguing that although the use of drone technology in war zones may result in enhanced data collection, it does not lead to a better assessment of the situation on the ground. Rather, reliance on technology alone may spark subsequent wars. By Lauren Gould and Isa Zoetbrood, Intimacies of Remote Warfare programme associates - Utrecht University.

• 18 December 2020
  

  Dutch out-of-court settlement for relatives of Srebrenica victims.

  As from 1 March 2021 the relatives of the ca. 350 Bosniaks who were murdered in Srebrenica in 1995 can make use of an out-of-court settlement offered by the Dutch state, covering both material and immaterial damages. The announcement was made by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence on 17 December 2020. The arrangement contains fixed amounts: € 15,000 for widows and € 10,000 for next of kin.

  With this settlement the Dutch government is implementing the Dutch Supreme Court’s judgment of July 2019 holding that the Netherlands is liable for 10% of the damages suffered by the relatives of the murdered Bosniaks who were on the compound of Dutchbat in Poto?ari at the end of the afternoon of 13 July 1995.

  https://balkaninsight.com/2020/12/22/srebrenica-victims-families-told-to-seek-damages-from-netherlands/

• 3 December 2020
  

  New website for the Nuhanovic Foundation. We are building a new website that is more in line with our expanded activities. The website should be on line in 2021. We welcome your suggestions! Follow us on Facebook!

• 3 December 2019
  In 2017, Dutch lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld has repeatedly, and to no avail, requested the Dutch Ministry of Defense for detailed information

• 9 September 2020
  

  Dutch Compensation for Mosul Airstrike Victim - The Dutch State has reached an out of court compensation settlement with an Iraqi resident who lost several of his family members in a Dutch airstrike on his house in Mosul in 2015. The Dutch wrongly assumed that the residents were linked to ISIS. Although this is a step forward into the direction of reparations for civilians harmed by military actions, the Dutch State did not take legal responsibility stressing that this is a voluntary payment originating from humanitarian considerations and is not to be understood as an admission of wrongdoing. Yet, hopefully this settlement sparks a policy development incorporating the Dutch State’s duty under international law to restore the civilian harm resulting from its unlawful military activities.

• 6 July 2020
  

  Finally Dutch compensation for Bosniak war victims? The Dutch government has set up an expert commission to prepare a compensation settlement proposal for the relatives of 350 Bosniak men and boys from Srebrenica. In 1995, the United Nations Dutch Battalion of peacekeepers handed them over to the Bosnian Serb Army and they were killed shortly afterwards. The Dutch Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the Netherlands had some responsibility for their deaths.

• 24 April 2020
  

  Update Ziada case - Ismael Ziada will appeal the decision of the District Court of The Hague to grant functional immunity to two Israeli military officers who, according to Mr. Ziada, are responsible and liable for the bombing of his family house in Gaza in 2014 killing six members of his family. He contends that the court erred in its decision as functional immunity is not enjoyed for war crimes. More information about this landmark case is to here and on the website of Palestine Justice Campaign.

• 26 March 2020
  

  Update colonial crimes cases Netherlands - On 25 March 2020, the Dutch District Court of The Hague ruled in two separate cases that the Dutch State acted wrongfully towards the children and the widows of men who were executed by the Dutch Military in the 1940’s on South-Sulawesi (formerly Celebes, at the time part of the Dutch East Indies colony) and awarded compensation for material and immaterial damages. The decisions (currently only available in Dutch, see here and here) are in line with the court’s 2011 judgment in a comparable case brought by widows of executed men on Java. They too were awarded damages. Summaries of the judgments will soon be available on this website.

• 29 January 2020
  

  Update Ziada case - On 29/1/2020 the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands rejected the claim by Dutch/Palestinian Ismael Ziada that Israeli military officers should be held liable for bombing his family house in Gaza in 2014 killing six members of his family. For all court decisions and related documents see our Ziada page.

• 22 January 2020
  

  Syria Legal Aid Project on Universal Jurisdiction In the context of the Syria Legal Aid Project, the Nuhanovic Foundation, the UvA War Reparations Center and Syria Legal Network organized two training events for Syrian lawyers and lawyers from Iraq and Yemen on universal jurisdiction in The Netherlands. Students from UvA and Leiden participated.  The events took place in December 2019 and January 2020 at the University of Amsterdam. Former ICTY prosecutor Carolyn Edgerton, a consultant for the Nuhanovic Foundation, discussed the principles and procedures of universal jurisdiction in The Netherlands. Information F.devlaming@uva.nl.    

• 17 December 2019
  

  On December 12, Syria Legal Network and the Nuhanovic Foundation organized a succesful training event on national prosecution of war crimes.  Carolyn Edgerton, former ICTY prosecutor, instructed 30 Syrian lawyers and students at a meeting organized at the Law Faculty of the University of Amsterdam. The event was part of the Syria Legal Aid Project. More info here.

   

• 3 December 2019
  

  Why transparancy is essential for civilian victims of the Hawija/Iraq bombardment. Nuhanovic Foundation comments on the current debate in the Netherlands parliament on Dutch (partial) responsibility for Coalition bombings in Iraq in 2015 that led to the death of 70 civilians. See Dutch article here.

• 26 November 2019
  

  

  On 12 November 2019, Nuhanovic Foundation organized a well attended seminar on the impact of litigation in relation to systematic and large scale atrocities  by the Dutch military in the Dutch Indies/Indonesia. During the seminar the report was presented by Anne-Marie de Brouwer & Eefje de Volder (IMPACT) and discussed with the audience. Guests included Liesbeth Zegveld, Jeffry Pondaag, Wouter Veraart and others. The report can be downloaded from our home page (left side!). For printed copies as well as Veraart's comments on the report, contact F.deVlaming@uva.nl.  

• 17 October 2019
  

  Latest courts documents in the Ziada case are now on our special Ziada page! 

• 23 October 2019
  

  On 15 October 2019, the Dutch District Court of The Hague declined the Freedom of Information request of two Iraqi civilians who claim to have been hit by airstrikes conducted by coalition forces fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq, on 26 January 2015. Since the Dutch State was one of the coalition forces conducting bombardments in Iraq, they claim the Netherlands committed a wrongful act, alone or in cooperation with other coalition forces, and is liable for their damages. Seeking clarification on the Dutch State’s role in the bombardments, the plaintiffs asked the Court to order the Dutch State to provide information of the coalition bombardments on 26 January 2015 and of the Dutch bombardments on this date near Mosul and Sinjar. Their request, however, was declined on formal grounds. The plaintiffs decided to appeal this decision. For the English summary of the Dutch Court ruling click here.

• 2 October 2019
  

  No statute of limitations for Dutch colonial crimes

  On October 1, the Dutch Court of Appeal decided in two cases that serious war crimes committed by Dutch military in the late 1940-ies in the former colony Dutch East Indies – now Indonesia -  are not subject to statute of limitations. Children of victims of extralegal executions committed in 1947 in South Sulawesi had requested the Dutch state for compensation for the harm they had suffered since then. In the second case, the Court of Appeal granted compensation to an Indonesian man who was tortured by Dutch forces in East-Java in 1947.

  The full text (in Dutch) of the decisions can be found here and here. English summaries of the judgments are listed in our Reparations Legal Database here and here. Prior decisions in these cases can be found here.

  The Nuhanovic Foundation supports the 'Indonesia' cases and will publish a report on the impact of litigation on 12 November 2019. Information: F.deVlaming@uva.nl.     

• 27 September 2019
  

  On 17 September 2019, the District Court of The Hague heard the civil case of Ismail Ziada against Benjamin Gantz and Amir Eshel, former Israeli military commanders. Mr. Ziada asserted they committed a tort in their capacity as commanders during the bombardment of his family’s residence in Gaza in 2014. Ziada holds Gantz and Eshel liable for the damages he suffered as a result of the attack that killed six of his relatives.  The panel of judges will now consider the case before making a public pronouncement on January 29th 2020. The court will consider whether the two defendants are protected by functional immunity as State officials from civil suit before a foreign court, and secondly, whether the court has jurisdiction given that the incident took place in another country and did not involve the Dutch State. Information relating to the court hearing is available here and includes Ismail Ziada's opening statement.  Should the outcome be positive for the family it is expected the Israeli military defendants will pursue the case up to the Dutch Supreme Court which can take several years and significant financial Resources.  Information: f.devlaming@uva.nl 

• 1 January 1970
  

  2019 The NETHERLANDS Supreme Court – Mothers of Srebrenica vs The State of the Netherlands.

   This decision represents the final stage in the efforts of the Mothers of Srebrenica to obtain reparations before a Dutch court for the death of 350 Bosniak men and boys, killed in Srebrenica in 1995. See the decisions of the Dutch District court (The Hague 2014) and Appeals court (2017) elsewhere on this page. Via this link you can read the official summary of the case (full English transcript not yet available). 
  
  

  Having initially been awarded full reparations by the District Court, the degree of responsibility for which the Dutch State was held liable was reduced to 30% by the Appeals Court and now to only 10% by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court judges once again attempt to assess the degree of responsibility of the Dutch State by considering what chance the Bosniak men might have had of escaping abuse and death, if the Dutch battalion protecting them had not released them from its compound into the hands of the Bosnian Serb army. Concluding that, under the circumstances, their chance of survival would have been very slight even if they had been allowed to stay in the compound, the court decided that only 10% of the responsibility for their deaths could be attributed to the Dutch State. 

• 1 January 1970
  

  Public hearing Dutch colonial crimes June 27 2019 District Court The Hague

  During a public hearing on June 27 at the District Court in The Hague, the children of victims of summary executions by Dutch Special Troops in former Dutch colony the Dutch Indies, now Indonesia, were heard by the Court.  For more information on the case see our litigation section and our forthcoming publication!

• 13 May 2019
  

  Dutch news media report that the German government appealed the judgment of the Higher Administrative Court for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ordering that Germany must take appropriate measures to ensure that any use of Ramstein Air Base by the US for armed drones operations in Yemen, shall take place in accordance with international law. The case is now taken to Germany’s supreme administrative court, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.

• 21 March 2019
  

  Yemeni drone victims win case in Germany. In the case of Bin Ali Jaber vs Germany, the Higher Administrative Court in Münster found that claimants “are justified in fearing risks to life and limb from US drone strikes that use Ramstein Air base in violation of International Law”. The Court found that Germany’s role means it has a duty to protect the right to life of those being targeted and that Germany must now take action to ensure that the US use of the airbase at Ramstein is in accordance with international law.

• 1 January 1970
  

  On Thursday 14th March there will be appeal hearing at the Higher Administrative Court in Münster (Germany) in a case brought by Yemenite drone victim Faisal bin Ali Jaber. ECCHR and Reprieve, assisting claimant in this suit, expect that the hearing will consider the details of use of US airbase in Ramstein as well as official US policies on drone strikes. More info on the case can be found here.

   

   

• 11 March 2019
  

  On Wednesday March 13th, the German Higher Administrative Court in Münster will entertain the appeal of a Somalian herdsman whose father was killed in a US drone strike in Somalia in 2012. The case was brought in collaboration with the Open Society Justice Initiative and challenges the use of U.S. military bases on German soil to support lethal drone strikes in Africa and the Middle East. More can be read here.

• 8 March 2019
  

  ON MARCH 21 2019, the Nuhanovic Foundation & the War Reparations Centre host the launching of the annual Universal Jurisdiction Report by Redress, FIDH and Trial International. 4-6 pm, University of Amsterdam, Law Faculty, Achtergracht 166, Room A 3.01. Free entrance, register F.devlaming@uva.nl.   

• 4 February 2019
  

  The hearing before the ICC Appeals Chamber of Lubanga and the victims’ legal representatives regarding the ‘Decision Setting the Size of the Reparations Award for which Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is Liable’ of 15 December 2017, that was scheduled for 7 and 8 February 2019, is cancelled. Instead, parties were invited to make written submissions.

• 11 January 2019
  

  Support the Palestine justice campaign!
  palestinejusticecampaign.wordpress.com

• 25 December 2018
  

  Nuhanovic Foundation supports crowdfunding campaign to cover costs of Dutch court case against Israeli military to obtain reparations for Gaza victims of bombing: support campaign and SHARE!! gofundme.com/palestine-justice-campaign 

• 26 November 2018
  

  On December 11 the Nuhanovic Foundation and the War Reparations Centre of the University of Amsterdam organize a round table on Palestine, humen rights and business: exploring strategies for transnational litigation. Info: F.devlaming@uva.nl.

• 26 November 2018
  

  Helen Duffy presented her book Strategic human rights litigation: understanding and maximising impact, commissioned by the Nuhanovic Foundation, on December 3 (18.00 hrs) at the Grotius Centre in The Hague. 

• 5 November 2018
  

  On November 6 2018, the Nuhanovic Foundation and the War Reparations Centre of the University of Amsterdam organized a seminar on how victims of Coalition bombardments on Iraq could obtain information about the bombardments through national or international legal proceedings. University of Amsterdam, 6 November 2018. Info: f.devlaming@uva.nl

• 4 November 2018
  

  On May 2 2018 Nuhanovic Foundation and the War Reparations Centre of the University of Amsterdam organized a panel discussion - The Siege of Eastern Ghouta: crimes without accountability? Topics included: sieges and forced displacement of civilians, failure of international law and diplomacy, and challenges for accountability. Panel included representatives of the university, the International Crisis Group, the Violations and Documentation Centre and the Dutch Minisrty for Foreign Affairs. Info: f.devlaming@uva.nl 

• 18 October 2018
  

  Nuhanovic Foundations signs statement on drones for UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security

  The Nuhanovic Foundations signed-on to a civil society statement on drones that has been presented to United Nations General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security on October 17th. This body, which deals with disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace, will meet from 8 October – 9 November 2018 in New York. Together with our co-signatory members of the European Forum on Armed Drones (EFAD), we are keen to ensure drones have a strong mention.

   

• 5 June 2018
  

  Will Bemba’s acquittal have consequences for reparations?

  On 8 June 2018, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) acquitted Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo for war crimes and crimes against humanity, crimes he had been found guilty of by the ICC’s Trial Chamber III in March 2016. Following his conviction, Trial Chamber III appointed experts to advise it on reparations for Mr Bemba’s victims and on the scope of his liability for reparations. Whether and how the Appeals Chamber’s decision will impact the reparations for the victims in this case, is now uncertain. More info

• 30 November 1999
  

  The Nuhanovic Foundation and researchers of Tilburg University cooperate in a study on the impact of litigating colonial crimes before Dutch courts. Since 2007 lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld has requested and received compensation for the widows of the men who were killed by the Dutch colonial power during the war of liberation in the late 1940-ies. The study looks into the background of the case, the legal proceedings, truth finding, the impact on the claimants, the response by the Dutch government and the public debate. The report will be published in November 2018 followed by a seminar.

• 30 November 1999
  

  On April 19, 2018, Amnesty International released its report Deadly Assistance, the role of European States in US drone strikes. While the United States’ lethal drone programme covers Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and Syria and is carried out in- and outside armed conflict situations, it is supported by many States, including The United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. More info

• 30 November 1999
  

  Lubanga’s child soldiers’ harm recognized and to be repaired

  On 15 December 2017, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court delivered its decision on reparations in the Lubanga case, unanimously setting the amount of collective reparations to which Mr. Lubanga is liable to the total sum of USD 10,000,000 of which USD 3,400,000 is allocated to the 425 recognized victims and USD 6,600,000 to other potential eligible victims. A summary of the decision –which is drawn up in French- will soon be published on our website.

• 30 November 1999
  

  U.S. judicial system denies Yemenite victims of US drone strike relief
  On 27 November 2017 the Supreme Court released a list of cases that it declined to hear, the case of Yemenite drone victims Faisal bin Ali Jaber and others being on it. More info

• 29 November 1999
  

  Victims of alleged Serbian warcrimes turn to ECtHR too late says ECtHR
  On 19 October 2017 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided by majority that the relatives of men who died in or underway to Serbian detention camps in 1995, lodged their application to the Court on the Serbian failure to investigate cases of these deaths, too late and declared the case inadmissible. More info

• 30 November 1999
  

  On 25 October representatives of the UN Commission of Inquiry for SYRIA visited the University of Amsterdam to discuss the Commission's work. The event was organized by the Syria Legal Network and the Nuhanovic Foundation in cooperation with the War Reparations Centre of the University of Amsterdam. For details and invitation: f.devlaming@uva.nl.

• 30 November 1999
  

  The Nuhanovic Foundation has been accepted as member of the European Forum on Armed Drones. See for EFAD’s Call to Action.

• 30 November 1999
  

  20 September 2017
  The Dutch State has announced it will appeal to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands against the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the Srebrenica case, issued last June. The Court of Appeal ruled that the Dutch State is liable to the extent of 30% of the damages suffered by 350 muslim men resulting from their unlawful ‘evacuation’ from the Dutch Compound in Srebrenica, leading to their death. More info.

• 30 November 1999
  

  14 aug 2017
  Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld has requested the Dutch Ministry of Defense for detailed information concerning Dutch involvement, as a member of the international coalition in Iraq, in airstikes on a convoy that left civilian casualties. More info

• 30 November 1999
  

  7-8 July 2017
  Conference on Access to Justice for victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Turkey recognizes change of direction necessary in pursuit of accountability
  
  More info
  Reader (English)
  Reader (Turkish)
  https://www.vn.nl/schond-turkije-mensenrechten-in-het-stadje-cizre (Dutch)
  

• 30 November 1999
  

  
  
  17 February 2017
  Symposium
  During a two-day conference on 17 and 18 February Prof. Duffy (Leiden University) presented her report on the impact of strategic human rights litigation (SHRL) and the potential and limitations of the role of the courts in effecting human rights change.
  More info
  

• 30 November 1999
  

  Reparations to be paid by Dutch State to families of evacuated Srebrenica Bosniaks
  
  On 27 June 2017 The Court of Appeal in Den Haag awarded reparations to family members, known as the ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’, of 350 Bosniak men and boys who were evacuated from the UN/Dutchbat compound on 13 July 1995. More info
  Photo: Claimants in Mothers of Srebrenica case arriving at the Appeals Court Tuesday 27 June 2017, Remko de Waal/ANP

• 30 November 1999
  

  Nuhanovic Foundation sponsors civil claim against Israeli military for deadly Gaza attacks

  

  In June Dutch lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld sent a ‘notice of liability’ to the Chief Commander of the Israeli defense forces. More info