Normative Gatekeepers

EU's capacity to enforce International Humanitarian Law is constrained by national divergences. Increased political polarization, the prioritization of the humanitarian dimension, and the reinforcement of legal discourse on the unlawful nature of settlements have shaped the Union's external action. National judicial bodies have increasingly acted as normative gatekeepers by scrutinizing arms export authorizations for compliance with IHL. Recent landmark judgments in the Netherlands and Germany have annulled or suspended export licenses for military equipment destined for Israel, citing substantial risks of contributing to grave breaches of international law in Gaza.. By asserting the primacy of legal obligations over political choices, national courts thus function as a constraining and legitimizing force, shaping or even modifying the political discourse of a number of EU member states influencing indirectly EU's external affairs policies. This paper analyses the pivotal role of national courts in influencing the European Union's legal and policy responses to the Gaza crisis.