The ICJ, international law, and resistance
E P Thompson, the late socialist historian, was in a minority on the left in defending the importance of the rule of law. He did not of course think that the law was neutral or that it produced, in general, verdicts that supported working people. His point was that the law had to have an appearance of neutrality and allow for the possibility that the rich and powerful might occasionally lose cases.
This is a useful context for the ICJ interim verdict. South Africa bought a case that charged Israel with genocide in Gaza. The Court agreed that it had the power to hear the case and that there was a case to investigate. This will take some years. In the meantime the Court has imposed a series of orders on Israel which it has no power to enforce.
Those with familiar with the behaviour of Israel down the years will know that it will obfuscate, tell lies and generally avoid doing anything because of the judgement. Hence that attack on the UN and aid to Gaza based on unproven Israeli allegations
The far right and fascist elements of the Netanyahu Government will just step up their murderous activities.
Perry Anderson’s The Standard of Civilisation (New Left Review Sept Oct 2023) is a very useful piece on the realities of international law. After the First World War came the League of Nations and after the Second, the United Nations. However behind this lay an ideological perspective that whatever European countries and the US do is in accordance with international law and what others do is not. Palestine in this context has no chance. Israel facing orders is exceptional. Anderson notes that Gramsci saw hegemony as the ‘successful representation of a particular interest as a universal value’
So the ICJ judgement won’t stop Israel. But it places Netanyahu in a difficult place. Those like Lord Dave Cameron, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer who oppose doing anything meaningful to restrain Israel and sell it arms are also in a difficult place. Based on the ICJ judgement they are potentially facilitating genocide.
The power that will shift things lies with protests in workplaces, colleges and on the streets. The ICJ judgement underlines that all those who have protested are right and those who haven’t are not and worse. Protest can work more quickly and effectively than the Courts, important though their role can be
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