Israel’s rejection of the International Court of Justice’s ruling on the wall in Palestine is not the first time the losing side has dismissed and ignored the court’s opinion. In 1986, the court famously handed down a decisive verdict against the US, stating that US military involvement in Nicaragua were illegal under international law. The United States completely disregarded the verdict, failing to even appear in court to present their reasons or to hear the court’s final decision. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), established after WWII to serve as the UN’s judicial arm, has four major flaws that have rendered it the UN’s least successful entity.
To begin, the disputing nations must agree to appear before it and to be bound by its conclusions. The US elected not to accede to the court’s jurisdiction in the Nicaraguan case. Second, advisory opinions, such as in the case of the Palestinian wall, are not legally binding. Third, and this was done on purpose, the court was not designed to handle criminal matters, such as war crimes prosecutions. That had to wait until now, when the International Criminal Court was established. Fourth, the conflicts it hears must be between states; individuals or groups cannot bring states to justice through the court.
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As a result of all of this, the International Court of Justice, which is staffed by excellent judges, including British international law expert Rosalyn Higgins, has had little impact on the development of postwar international law, which has been at the centre of recent disputes, including the invasion of Iraq. I’m losing track of how many judges have been summoned to serve on juries. Lord Justice Dyson is up this week, and now Alun Michael (rural affairs), a cabinet minister, has been summoned up. That’s simply the ones we’re aware of. Many judges and ministers, I’m sure, are keeping their call-up notices hidden.
Indeed, according to statistical rules, it will only be a matter of time before a jury consists solely of members of the court and government, or even only judges.
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