Top EU court moves to restore Hamas terror listing

Practice Focuses

The European Union’s top court ruled Wednesday that Islamic militant group Hamas should stay on the EU terror list, saying a lower court should not have ordered the group removed from the EU’s terror list, and sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.

The EU originally listed Hamas as a terror group in 2001, a move that froze assets of the organization in the European Union. However, the decision was annulled on procedural grounds by an EU court in 2014.

The EU appealed and Wednesday’s ruling by the European Union Court of Justice said that the 2014 annulment was wrong and must now be reconsidered, taking into account arguments not ruled upon in the original decision. However, it added that Hamas funds will continue to be frozen pending the outcome of the reconsideration.

Hamas said it would challenge the “unfair political decisions against our people and the movement” through legal recourse. Israel had no immediate response to the ruling.

In May, Hamas issued a new policy document in a bid to rebrand itself with softer positions. In the new document, Hamas said it accepts a Palestinian state alongside Israel, a departure from the founding charter which envisioned that state in place of a defeated Israel.

Related listings

  • A Canadian man facing 14 murder charges will plead guilty to aiding suicide

    A Canadian man facing 14 murder charges will plead guilty to aiding suicide

    Practice Focuses 04/19/2026

    A Canadian man facing murder charges for allegedly selling lethal substances online to people at risk of self-harm has agreed to plead guilty to 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide, his lawyer said on Saturday.In turn, Canadian prosecutors will...

  • Lobster fishing union drops lawsuit about new whale closure

    Lobster fishing union drops lawsuit about new whale closure

    Practice Focuses 08/25/2022

    A lobster fishing union in Maine has decided to drop part of its lawsuit against the federal government over new restrictions meant to protect rare whales.The Maine Lobstering Union sued the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after the g...

  • German federal court mulls bid to remove antisemitic relic

    German federal court mulls bid to remove antisemitic relic

    Practice Focuses 05/31/2022

    A German federal court on Monday mulled a Jewish man’s bid to force the removal of a 700-year-old antisemitic statue from a church where Martin Luther once preached, and said it will deliver its verdict in the long-running dispute next month. T...