The Gaza war also divides the Dutch legal profession. For months, a group of lawyers have been trying to get the board of the Dutch Bar Association (NOvA) to speak out. “65,000 dead in Gaza. Dutch Bar Association, what do you think about this?” reads one of their social media posts. Others believe that the Order should remain neutral and keep away from ‘politics’.
This Tuesday afternoon, several hundred lawyers from both camps will meet in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht for a closed meeting focused on Gaza. According to the NOvA, 329 of the more than 19,000 lawyers in the Netherlands have registered for the meeting.
A motion advocates solidarity with the Palestinian Bar Association and lawyer colleagues in Gaza
That meeting could be held at all thanks to an article from the Lawyers Act that was gathering dust. On this basis, fifty lawyers, a minimum requirement, can convene a national meeting of the Dutch Bar Association. Since the law came into effect in 1952, this has never been done.
Until now then. Last May, the action group Advocates for Peace asked the board of the order to speak out against “the genocide and ethnic cleansing by Israel” in a letter. In a letter in June, the board stated the “concern and disgust [te delen] about the deeply worrying humanitarian situation in Gaza.” But it said that taking a position did not fall “within the scope of the tasks, powers and responsibilities of the NOvA as a public law professional organization.”
Hostages
On the special LinkedIn page ‘Article 37’ – named after the article of law that makes the meeting possible – contains three motions that will be voted on during the meeting. The first asks the Order one declaration of the human rights committee of the European lawyers’ association FBE. That July statement called for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the end of the occupation of Palestine,” as well as the release of all hostages.
The second motion advocates solidarity with the Palestinian Bar Association and lawyer colleagues in Gaza – where the legal infrastructure has been largely destroyed.
The third motion requests that an independent committee investigate how Dutch lawyers (firms) should deal with clients involved in possible violations of international law in Palestinian territories.
A fourth motion has now also been submitted calling for US sanctions against the International Criminal Court to be condemned.
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Solidarity
If a majority votes in favor of the motions on Tuesday, this does not mean that the General Council will implement them. Three weeks ago published the board of the bar association has a legal ‘vision’, which states that adopted motions have no binding effect. “The meeting is free to take a position and vote on it, but what the majority thinks is not automatically mandatory,” NOvA chairman Jeroen Soeteman explains by telephone.
According to Soeteman, the board views motions that are adopted as “a signal that a number of lawyers are taking this very seriously and would like something to be done about it.” He repeats what the General Council previously wrote: that taking a position on “geopolitical issues, such as the situation in Gaza” falls outside the tasks, powers and responsibilities of the NOvA.
We ask for nothing more than respect for law and the rule of law – something that unites our profession
One group of lawyers strongly agrees. They fear the precedent of taking ‘political positions’ and state in a letter that this endangers the neutrality of the order. “The NOvA is a coercive organization: you must be affiliated with it as a lawyer,” says lawyer Femmetje de Wind, who supported the letter. “I do not want to have an opinion imposed on a foreign matter, while I am a mandatory member of the Dutch Bar Association.”
De Wind believes that the Bar Association should only concern itself with what directly concerns Dutch lawyers. “Moreover: where does this end? Citizens’ rights are being violated all over the world. Then we must also speak out about that.”
Respect
Opposing the NOvA board and lawyers like De Wind is a group that sees the issue diametrically differently. According to them, the Order has a duty to speak out about the Gaza war. They point out that the Order previously expressed solidarity with Ukrainian colleagues and this year expressed concerns about rule of law developments in the US.
In a legal ‘vision’ of seven pages stilt the group that NOvA must contribute to the prevention and end of genocide and violations of international humanitarian law. They refer to the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions, which impose an obligation on states. They argue that NOvA, as a public law organization, plays a role in this.
Lawyer Minke Gommer says that this group is not about taking political positions. “We ask for nothing more than respect for law and the rule of law – something that unites our profession.” She points out that many lawyers deal with international law on a daily basis. “We cannot credibly rely on international law if we allow other countries to violate this law with impunity.”
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