The International Court of Justice has set 22 November 2027 as the deadline for South Africa to file its Reply in the genocide case it brought against Israel, the South African Presidency confirmed on 3 June 2026.

The ICJ issued the order on 21 May 2026 following a meeting held at The Hague on 29 April 2026 between representatives of the parties and the President of the Court to discuss the next procedural steps in the matter. Under the same order, Israel will have until 22 May 2029 to submit its Rejoinder.

The case, instituted by South Africa in December 2023, alleges that Israel's actions in Gaza violate obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Jurisdictional Objection Now in Play

The Presidency noted that a second round of written pleadings is common in ICJ cases and has been followed in all previous cases brought under the Genocide Convention.

The procedural picture shifted in March 2026, when Israel filed its Counter-Memorial and objected to the Court's jurisdiction. That objection, the Presidency pointed out, came later than the Rules of Court contemplate.

"As Israel has now objected to the jurisdiction of the Court in its Counter-Memorial, submitted in March 2026 – and not, as contemplated in the Rules of Court, 'as soon as possible, and not longer than three months after the delivery of the Memorial' (i.e. January 2025) – South Africa will now have to address these objections to the Court's jurisdiction in its Reply," the Presidency said.

For practitioners, the consequence is concrete: South Africa's Reply due in November 2027 must now carry a dual burden — responding to Israel's merits defence and answering the jurisdictional challenge. Pleadings remain confidential until the Court determines otherwise, limiting public visibility into the parties' written arguments in the interim.

South Africa Rejects Self-Defence Framing

At the time of filing its Counter-Memorial, Israel's counsel publicly declared that "its Counter-Memorial [proves] its legitimate objectives in the war have always been to eliminate the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist organizations".

The Presidency responded sharply to that position.

"Whether or not Israel's war on Gaza is authorised by, or has complied with, the international law regarding self-defence, as claimed by Israel's counsel, South Africa's response is a simple one: self-defence is not a defence to genocide, there is none," the Presidency said.

Provisional Measures Remain Binding

The Presidency emphasised that Israel remains bound by the three provisional measures orders the ICJ has issued at South Africa's request. The Court previously determined that the rights of Palestinians in Gaza are under "real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice".

Those orders require Israel, among other things, to ensure that its military does not commit genocidal acts in Gaza and to ensure "without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision…of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance".

The orders also require Israel to guarantee the "unimpeded access" of United Nations commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions and other investigative bodies to the Gaza Strip.

The timelines now in place stretch the proceedings well into the next decade. A Rejoinder in May 2029 suggests oral hearings — and any eventual judgment on jurisdiction or the merits — remain years away, even as the provisional measures obligations continue to bind Israel in the interim.