Two Montreal companies and their director are being sued in Canada for war crimes for constructing residential units for an Israeli settlement on lands claimed by the Palestinian village of Bil’in, in the West Bank.
Legal documents filed last week in Superior Court in the District of Montreal allege Green Park International and Green Mount International, acting as agents of the government of Israel, are violating a host of international laws that govern conflicts, as well as Quebec’s Charter of Rights.
Also being sued is Annette Laroche, sole director and officer of the two corporations. Two million dollars in punitive damages are sought, as well as an order to cease construction.
The court documents allege the defendants, “on their own behalf and as de facto agents of the State of Israel, are… aiding, abetting and assisting and conspiring with the State of Israel in carrying out an illegal purpose.”
Mark Arnold, the Toronto lawyer who is acting for Bil’in and the village head, Ahmed Yassin, said the gist of the case is the assertion that Israel is violating the 4th Geneva Convention, which prohibits a state from transferring its population into territories it occupies. Canada has incorporated that provision into its domestic law and it applies to Green Park and Green Mount. Arnold said the lands in question are under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Bil’in and are part of Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
“Israel’s policy is to put [its] population in the lands of the village of Bil’in, and that’s wrong,” he said.
However, an expert in international law suggests the suit is problematic at best, and faces jurisdictional and factual hurdles.
Ed Morgan, TOP LEFT, a professor of law at the University of Toronto and the immediate past president of Canadian Jewish Congress, called the claim “creative.” But, he added, “I can see a few potential legal impediments to it.”
The plaintiffs could run into a problem in dealing with the concept of “sovereign immunity,” he said. That’s the principle that prevents a Canadian from suing a foreign government or its agents. If the plaintiffs pursue its alternative claim, suing the companies and alleging they acted on their own behalf (thus removing the sovereign immunity defence), then the Geneva Conventions and other war crimes law would not apply, Morgan said.
Other legal obstacles include the question of extraterritoriality – applying Canadian law to a situation that has no real and substantive links to Quebec. And there is the question whether the village and its leader should have been the plaintiffs. It’s likely the village did not own the land, which was most probably formerly Jordanian-owned state land, Morgan said.
Arnold said Israeli courts have refused to take jurisdiction on settlement issues, calling them non-justiciable. But he said there are important links to Canada that would give a Canadian court jurisdiction,: the companies “are registered in Quebec and as such are required to comply with the laws of Canada and international law.”
The concept of sovereign immunity does not apply. “In this case, the wrongdoer is Canadian, subject to [Canadian law],” he said.
As to whether the village of Bil’in’s was the proper plaintiff, “the village has municipal jurisdiction,” he said. “It is our belief the village of Bil’in has municipal jurisdiction over the land of Bil’in.”
Bil’in, home to about 1,700 Palestinians, is 18 kilometres west of Ramallah and adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Modi’in Illit. The construction project calls for 42 new buildings containing 1,500 apartments, Ha’aretz reported.
