Remedy

In both the UK and Belgium, exports to Saudi Arabia have continued despite the court’s ruling that these exports are unlawful.

UK: The court allowed extant licences to remain operative; meaning that the government could continue to export to Saudi Arabia in spite of a ruling declaring such a practice as unlawful. Furthermore, despite the ruling in the claimant’s favour from the first administrative proceedings in the UK, which lasted several years (during which most exports continued), the remedy sought was for the government to be required to review its decision. The impact of these proceedings were, however, short-lived as only a year later, following a review of its licensing process and position on Saudi Arabia’s targeting practices, the government resumed granting new licences to Saudi Arabia. This was challenged in a fresh judicial review claim, which was finally dismissed by the High Court in June 2023, finding that the then Secretary of State for International Trade was not acting irrationally in their decision.

Belgium: Following a positive order for annulment or suspension of contested licences, the government merely replaces the annulled licences with new licences to the same destination.

In the Netherlands, the appeals court ruled that the export of F-35 parts to Israel must stop.

The Netherlands: The appeals court ruled in favour of the claimants. However, the defendants argue that the ruling only applies to exports from the European Regional Warehouse, based at Woensdrecht Air Base in the Netherlands, rather than applying it to all exports and transit of F-35 parts destined for Israel, which narrows the scope of the ruling. As such, there are concerns among civil society as to whether all transfers of F-35 parts to Israel have truly ended.