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Your faithful writer,
Dr. Daniel Smith

On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced a major ruling in an ongoing case regarding Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Following the October 7 Hamas terror attack that left over 1,200 Israelis dead, Israel’s military response in Gaza has drawn criticism from activists and governments around the world.

As of today, Israeli forces have killed more than 25,000 Palestinians as the Israeli military pursues its goal of destroying Hamas in Gaza.

The government of South Africa filed a case with the International Court of Justice on December 29, accusing Israel of genocide and asking for the Court to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel responded by asking the Court to reject South Africa’s case outright.

So, what happened? Friday’s results were mixed:

• The ICJ didn’t call for a ceasefire, but it did not dismiss South Africa’s genocide case as Israel sought.

• The Court ordered Israel to ensure that its military was not violating the Geneva Convention's rules against genocide and human rights violations.

• It also called for Israel to punish politicians who made public statements that were seen to be encouraging the genocide of Palestinians.

• The Court also called for Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages taken on October 7.

So, what is the International Court of Justice?

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was established in 1945 at the same time as the United Nations.

• The ICJ has 15 judges, who serve for nine-year terms.

  • The judges are selected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (which includes the U.S., Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and five rotating members).

• It is the only court that settles disputes between nations.

  • There are other international courts, like the International Criminal Court (ICC), which countries have to agree to participate in

• The ICJ has decided on 191 cases between its first case in May 1947 and November 2023

World Court: a brief history of an old idea

The idea of a world court that can settle disputes between countries and peoples is not new. In fact, the idea of a global court that can solve conflicts peacefully is hundreds of years old.

1305: French lawyer and scholar Pierre Dubois first proposed the creation of an international tribunal as a way of keeping the peace in medieval Europe.

1623: Another Frenchman named Émeric Crucé proposed the establishment of a permanent peace congress that could resolve international disputes and prevent war. He also proposed the creation of a single global currency and standardized weights and measures.

1871: After the American Civil War, the U.S. and the U.K. agreed to participate in an international arbitration concerning Britain's alleged violation of neutrality during the Civil War. The tribunal included representatives from the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, Italy and Switzerland. The arbitration found that the U.K. should pay compensation to the U.S. for violating rules of neutrality during the war, which Britain agreed to do.

1896: American lawyer Walter Logan published "A Working Plan for a Permanent International Tribunal," which outlined a proposed world court.

1899: The Hague Peace Conference at the Hague, organized by Russian Czar Nicholas II, established the Permanent Court of Arbitration as a framework for future international tribunals.

1907: The Second Hague Peace Conference formalized the rules for arbitrations. U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root called for the American delegation to create a permanent tribunal for international affairs. Root later won the Nobel Peace Prize for this work:

1920: Following World War I, the leading countries of Europe established the League of Nations as a way of preventing war and solving conflicts peacefully. The League of Nations established the Permanent Court of International Justice, which set the precedent for the UN’s ICJ 25 years later.

The rest, they say, is history.

Does the ICJ & international law actually work?

The idea of international law is a bit of an oxymoron. For a law to be real, it needs to be enforceable.

Usually, governments play that role. But in the case of international law, who is the enforcer? The United Nations itself? Or the member-states that agree to participate in the U.N.?

In the case of the U.S., are international laws or treaties technically considered to be legally binding under the Constitution?

To scholars of international law, these are still open-ended questions. The topic of international law is extraordinarily complex, so I will leave you with a short and informative video if you want to learn more about the world of international law:

ART OF THE DAY

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Yours,
Dan#37