Attorney General: UK committed to international law

Attorney General Richard Hermer has said the implications of “long and detailed advisory opinion” from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israeli occupation in the West Bank is still being assessed to “see how it applies across government and the extent to which it does apply across government.”

In an interview with parliament’s magazine The House, added: “What we will ensure that we do is that where we end up will be at a point at which we are in compliance with our international law obligations, in so far as we are not already?’

Asked by the magazine if he believes the UK is at this moment compliant with these obligations, the KC responded: “I am currently not aware of any aspect in which the UK is knowingly in breach of our international law obligations.”

Last July, the ICJ issued advisory opinion declaring Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory—comprising the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip (together the Occupied Palestinian Territory, or OPT)—to be illegal under international law.

The ICJ opinion also called for the immediate and total withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the OPT.

The 83-page advisory opinion came in response to a request from the U.N. General Assembly and the court declared that states and international organisations have a duty not to recognise the occupation as legal and to work to bring Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT to an end. But it did not specify how this should be done.

The House magazine also notes that Hermer was among a group of Jewish lawyers who signed a letter calling for Israel to observe international law in response to the October 7 massacre.

But the magazine then suggests anti-Israel campaigners had hoped Hemer, appointed by Keir Starmer to the role as Britain’s most senior lawyer, would by now have stopped UK trading with settlements in the West Bank.

In his role as Attorney General, Hermer, a member of Alyth Gardens Synagogue, is unable to say what advice he has given the government, as the ministerial code prevents this.

Asked about his own political stance as a Labour member, the human rights barrister says he has never been part of any faction within the party, but he was not aligned with the stance of Jeremy Corbyn.

He suggests Corbyn’s politics left the Labour Party unelectable, and praises his close friend Starmer’s role in detoxifying the party in the wake of the scathing EHRC report on antisemitism under the former leader’s watch.

He also attacks as “outrageous” the claims that Starmer is guilty of a “two-tier”approach to policing following his response last summer’s riots and with the grooming gangs scandal.

Hermer appeared earlier this month as a guest at the Jewish Labour Movement’s conference event at JW3.

He impressed with his grasp of Jewish texts, revealing he was a shul and youth movement regular, although he considers himself agnostic.