[Prefatory Note: The Gaza Tribunsl of which I am President had a successful Launch meeting with many of its members of its Advisory Policy Council. As the article below in the Palestine Chronicle notes, the aim of the Tribunal is or legitimize and encourage civil society solidarity initiatives around the world such as BDS. It does make the underlying argument that when the intergovernmental structures of world order fail to implement the UN Charter and international law, then the peoples of the world have the responsibility and opportunity to do so. This is an appeal for citizen engagement on behalf of humanity, and in this instance, in support of the Palestinian struggle for basic. We seek and need the support of persons of conscience and concern everywhere!]
‘Court of Humanity and Conscience’ – Gaza Tribunal Launched in London
The Gaza Tribunal was launched in London. (Design: Palestine Chronicle)
“Why establish a People’s Tribunal despite the International Court of Justice’s involvement? Because the international order has failed its duty—the ICJ, even after defining Israel’s actions as genocide, cannot enforce its rulings.”
A group of renowned intellectuals, jurists, artists, human rights advocates, and representatives from the media and civil society organizations gathered in London last week, to launch the Gaza Tribunal – an independent initiative serving as a “court of humanity and conscience.”
“Gaza represents a breaking point in the historical journey of humanity, where a global system based on power, not justice, prevails,” the Gaza Tribunal website states. “Based on this perspective, the need to address what is happening in Gaza through its historical, political, philosophical, and legal dimensions is becoming an urgent, necessary duty for humanity.”
Led by Richard Falk, a distinguished international law expert and former UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, the tribunal is taking an alternative route to international justice, aiming to spotlight voices from civil society in the examination of abuses following the conflict that escalated after the October 7 Resistance operation.
Why the Need?
Despite the genocide case against Israel currently underway at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the initiative is seen as a People’s Tribunal.
“The international order’s failure in fulfilling its duty is exactly why a people’s tribunal is needed. The International Court of Justice, despite designating Israel’s current war as a genocide, is unable to enforce its rulings,” the website states.
The Gaza Tribunal, which convened for two days of initial preparatory meetings in London, brought together around 100 participants.
Who is Involved?
Some who attended the London meeting include Ilan Pappe, Jeff Halper, Ussama Makdisi, Ayhan Citil, Cornel West, Avi Shlaim, Naomi Klein, Aslı Bali, Mahmood Mamdani, Craig Mokhiber, Hatem Bazian, Mehmet Karlı, Sami Al-Arian, Frank Barat, Hassan Jabareen, Willy Mutunga, Victor Kattan, and Victoria Brittain.
Among the participating organizations were Law for Palestine, the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network, the Arab Network for Food Sovereignty (APN), Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, BADIL, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, the prisoner support and human rights group Addameer, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
What are Its Objectives?
The Gaza Tribunal has two main objectives: one particular and one universal. The particular goal is to assist in bringing the tragic events to an end as soon as possible and to hold the perpetrators accountable in the public conscience.
The universal aim is to issue a decision grounded in humanity’s intellectual and moral values, one that can serve as a reference to prevent future atrocities worldwide.
Dwelling on the multi-dimensional underpinnings of the fact that such grave events can, have, and still occur at this point in human history, the Tribunal aims to explain why humanity has been unable to put a stop to such atrocities/how humanity can put a stop to such atrocities.
According to the website, the Tribunal’s “legitimacy comes from addressing the long-standing wounds of the Palestinian issue, with a focus on the ongoing tragedy in Gaza.”
The Outcome
The comprehensive document to be created by the Tribunal after all these investigations and evaluations will fill a critical gap that the nations have realized and will serve as a guiding document for all the world’s nations, states the website.
How Tribunal Operates
According to its website, the Gaza Tribunal mainly consists of the Presidential Committee, the Grand Chamber and 3 Specialized Chambers and six Administrative and Supportive Units.
Acting as a jury of conscience, the Grand Chamber of the Tribunal will consist of all committees’ members and around ten invited people as well. Additionally, jurists, academicians, artists, and intellectuals who have been recognized but have not served on these chambers may also be included in the Public Session Members. The Public Sessions make decisions by a majority rule. Having each member’s opinion be reflected in the decision is essential, and each member has the right to write positive, negative, or differing opinions to be appended to the decision.
Each chamber will consist of five to six members. These members will be among the renowned people in their respective fields. The chambers will discuss and arrive at decisions within their specific areas of discussion, including International Law Chamber, International Relations and World Order Chamber and History, Ethics, and Philosophy Chamber.
Given the Tribunal’s purpose of drawing attention to the genocide happening in Gaza, the aim is to have the physical sessions of each chamber be broadcast live on such international media channels as TRT World, Associated Press and Al Jazeera.
It will also be comprised of Administrative and Supportive Units.
Administrative Units ensure the efficient and proper functioning of the Tribunal and provide the necessary conditions for fair decision-making. Supportive Units, created at the discretion of the Presidential Committee, facilitate steps that contribute to the achievement of the Tribunal’s objectives.
Inclusivity and Accessibility
In a statement, the tribunal emphasized its commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, inviting Palestinian civil society groups and individuals directly affected by the conflict to submit evidence and testimony, the Anadolu news agency reported.
This body, organizers said, aimed to fill a gap by focusing on the human impact of Israel’s policies and actions on Palestinian civilians.
Beyond addressing recent events, the tribunal’s legal framework will integrate themes of settler-colonialism and apartheid, contextualizing its findings within the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and historic events such as the 1948 Nakba and Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories post-1967.
According to the organizers, the Gaza Tribunal “derives its power and authority not from governments but from the people in general and Palestinians in particular, that uses the intellectual and conscientious accumulation of humanity, with which anyone with common sense can agree and that can produce judgments and documents to which one can refer regarding future problems.”
Second Phase
According to organizers, the Gaza Tribunal’s second phase is scheduled for May 2025 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where prepared reports, witness statements, and draft declarations will be shared with the public.
Representatives of affected communities and expert witnesses are expected to speak at the Sarajevo session.
The tribunal’s main hearing, a crucial part of the initiative, is planned for October 2025 in Istanbul, Türkiye.
In Istanbul, an expert panel will present a draft of the tribunal’s findings and decisions, incorporating testimonies from witnesses and statements from Palestinian civilians and organizations affected by the crisis.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,391 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 102,347 wounded.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Millions Displaced
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)
Global Justice in the 21st Century 
Thank you, Professor/Dr. Falk, for this introduction to what promises to be a signal event from start to finish!
I surely admire the luminaries listed. Please allow me to wonder why one of my few stalwarts-heroes since about 1980 as endless time relates to Palestine is apparently not a member: international lawyer John V. Whitbeck of Paris, on whose massively extensive e-correspondence group I am privileged to reside (since end-2002, the runup to the US/Zionist War that shattered (“shocked and awed”) Iraq.
This is an important initiative to represent the diverse opinions of those who champion the cause of international law and a just world order. The Gaza Tribunal importantly includes attention to both modes of transformation that Professor Falk has identified as essential to transitional strategies (as I learned from him so many years ago as one of his students)–(1) transformation of international institutional structures and patterns of behavior and (2) transformation of philosophical orientations or values. As a professional philosopher with sustained attention to the philosophical dimensions of international politics and ethics in international affairs, I am pleased to see that a chamber is included to engage issues of history, philosophy, and ethics that are concerned with the second mode of transformation noted here.
Dear Richard,
Re: “The Gaza Tribunal: Law, Conscience, and Compassion | Global Justice in the 21st Century”
Please find attached, below, entitled, “Some Possible Suggestions on the Establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for Gaza (ICTG)“
Establishing a Gaza Tribunal? It is really a great idea, Richard!
Since I read your article, as mentioned above, I have been thinking about some possible steps to establish the Gaza Tribunal, which may well-be called an “International Criminal Tribunal for Gaza” (ICTG).
The main purpose of the attachment that I am sending to you this time is to stimulate the discussion on the establishment of the ICTG. Perhaps, a brain-storming type discussion on this issue may be necessary.
It may be most probably possible to found the ICTG, in particular, if you (and your friends) would closely coordinate with UNRWA and OHCHR, and discuss this issue at UNGA.
What do you think, Richard?
All the best!
With peace, appreciation and respect,
Satoshi Ashikaga
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Some Possible Suggestions on the Establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for Gaza (ICTG)
Re: The Gaza Tribunal: Law, Conscience, and Compassion
[1] Essential documents to be prepared:
a. Statute of the ICTG.
b. Staff rules and regulations.
c. Budget documents.
[2] Possible steps toward the establishment of the ICTG:
01. Preliminary and/or initial coordination meeting(s) with the UN and/or other relevant organizations and/or NGOs.
02. Discussion(s) on
– the mission,
– the legal status and
– the authority/power of the ICTG.
03. Preparation of the website for the ICTG.
04. Fundraising activity.
05. Recruitment and/or appointment of the personnel, including
– the judges and relevant legal assistants/secretaries,
– the prosecutors and relevant legal assistants/secretaries,
– the professional/legal investigators and relevant legal assistants/secretaries,
– the amicus curiae (if necessary) and relevant legal assistants/secretaries,
– the administrative staff and relevant administrative secretaries/assistants,
– the professional accountants, the fundraising staff and relevant staff for the finance of the ICTG,
– the public relations staff,
– the website staff,
– the professional negotiators,
– the liaison/coordination officers,
– the executive drivers,
– the security guards,
– and more (whenever or whoever necessary).
06. Setting up or opening of the main office of the ICTG.
07. General and/or coordination meeting with all the personnel/staff of the ICTG.
08. Preparation of the schedule of the ICTG.
09. Briefing(s) for each section/organ of the ICTG.
10. Commencement of the substantial activities of the ICTG.
Dear Professor Falk,
I hope you are able to go over this:
Relevant Organization or NGO that may be able to help with the process:
Colonel Douglas Macgregor Reveals Truth on Israel War with Iran | Watch
Douglas Macgregor, Ph.D.
Also, Mondoweiss and Guardian their journalist may be able to compile their wok and research.
Thank you,
K.F.