Danish Supreme Court case opens on arms sales to Israel

Denmark’s Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by four humanitarian organisations that accuse the country of violating international law by exporting weapons to Israel. In April 2025, a lower court rejected the lawsuit, filed against the Danish foreign ministry and national police by the Palestinian human rights association Al-Haq, ActionAid Denmark, and the Danish branches of Amnesty International and Oxfam. The organisations allege Denmark is violating its international commitments by selling Israel parts for F-35 jet fighters, given what an Amnesty official called Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

The Supreme Court will solely address the question of whether the organisations are entitled to test the legality of Denmark’s arms sales in the courts. The Eastern High Court found, in an April 2025 ruling seen by AFP, that the plaintiffs “cannot be considered to be affected in such a direct, individual and concrete manner that they meet the general conditions of Danish law regarding their right to bring proceedings”. If the four win their case before the Supreme Court, they intend to move forward and contest the legality of Denmark’s arms sales to Israel.

“Amnesty International’s documentation shows that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza,” Dina Hashem, an Amnesty official in Denmark, told AFP. “Under the UN arms trade treaty and the UN common position on arms exports, states must deny an export license if there is a clear, overriding risk that this equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law,” she said. In April, the Danish foreign ministry told AFP the Scandinavian country’s position on export control, including the F-35 programme, was “in accordance with applicable EU and international law obligations”. The Danish lawsuit was filed in March 2024 on the heels of a similar suit filed in the Netherlands by a coalition of humanitarian organisations.