Non-Recognition of Territorial Acquisitions by the Use of Armed Force: The Status of Jerusalem before Italian Courts

Abstract

This article comments upon two recent decisions of the Tribunal of Rome concerning the international legal status of Jerusalem. The issue before the court was whether rai, Italy’s public service broadcasting company, had aired false information by presenting the city as the capital of Israel. After summarizing the key aspects of the historical process which led to the current arrangement of Jerusalem, the article highlights that the international regulation of the city’s legal status mainly depends on the customary principle of non-recognition of territorial acquisitions by the use of armed force. It then analyses how the non-recognition regime affects the international legal status of Jerusalem. In this regard, it is argued that the position – taken by the Tribunal of Rome in the first of its two decisions – that Jerusalem is not recognized as the capital of Israel under international law seems excessive. The non-recognition regime only affects the status of East Jerusalem, while Israeli sovereignty over West Jerusalem appears largely uncontroversial. Therefore, defining Jerusalem as the “disputed” capital of Israel – as done by the tribunal’s second decision – is a more accurate depiction of the complexities surrounding Jerusalem’s status, which should eventually be defined through negotiations between the involved parties.