Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions (Greece V Great Britain) (1924 – 27)

The Mavrommatis dispute was about the fate of conflicting concessions for the supply of water and electricity and associated economic and political control over Palestine in the interwar period. Both water and electricity were essential to the aspirations of the Jewish people to create a homeland in this inhospitable part of the world. The control over water, in particular, has provoked considerable bloodshed in this region due to water scarcity, and remains a central theme of the contemporary Arab–Israeli conflict. The dispute about the concessions led to the three Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions cases before the PCIJ that are the focus of this chapter. As the sole dispute about the British Mandate in Palestine, these three cases provided a catalyst for the PCIJ to address vital constitutional questions concerning the Mandate, including the legislative powers of the Government of Palestine, the conformity of such legislation with the British Mandate and the interaction of private law rights and public law from the vantage point of international law that also characterises many contemporary investment disputes.