Central Bank cannot consider genocide risk when deciding to approve Israeli bonds, Gabriel Maklouf tells committee 

Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Gabriel Maklouf said that genocide was a legal term and it was for the International Court of Justice to determine whether it has been met. 'The litigation on this is ongoing,' he said.

The Central Bank has said it cannot use a risk of genocide in deciding whether to approve Israeli bond prospectuses, the Oireachtas finance committee has heard.

Central Bank governor Gabriel Maklouf said he would be breaking the law if he did not act in line with EU securities rules.

Ireland ceased being the issuing country for the prospectuses of Israeli bonds last September, with the bonds being used to fund the country’s war in Gaza.

Given its obligations under the Genocide Convention, Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan questioned whether the Central Bank would be in a position to refuse offering Israeli prospectuses.

“On Israeli bonds, full compliance with international law, and your obligations under the Genocide Convention oblige you to act in, terms of when there’s a risk of genocide,” he said.

“That’s where the threshold is, so surely you don’t dispute that that threshold has been met.”

In response, Mr Maklouf said that genocide was a legal term and it was for the International Court of Justice to determine whether it has been met. “The litigation on this is ongoing,” he said.

Mr O’Callaghan said that is for a final determination.

“The fact that litigation is happening, clearly there is a risk of genocide which then obliges you to act,” he added.

However, Mr Maklouf said legal advice provided to the Central Bank disputed Mr O’Callaghan’s assertions.

“The advice that I have is that sort of contingent risk is not one that I can take into account in coming to a judgement, coming to a decision on either approving a prospectus or transferring approval of the prospectus,” Mr Maklouf said.

However, the governor declined to provide the legal advice to the committee.

While it ceased issuing prospectuses, the Irish Central Bank remains Israel’s chosen competent authority as its home member state.

Asked by committee chairwoman Mairead Farrell if he was concerned about personal liability if he went against the law, Mr Maklouf said: “I’m not worried about personal liability because I start from the basis that I will follow the law.”

He said he believed this decision to retain Ireland as the home member state to be “bizarre”, but this required the EU Commission to change its regulations.