Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has sought legal advice on the implications for her policies on arms export licences to Israel of the International Court of Justice’s decision on the request for provisional measures in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).

All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including with regard to international humanitarian law.

All licences are kept under careful and continual review and the Government is able to amend, suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade receives legal advice as appropriate, on all matters related to import and export licensing, as part of advice from officials.

Any legal advice received is subject to legal professional privilege and as such we do not comment on legal advice that may or may not have been sought or received.