Sunday, December 6, 2009

A Court Rules About A Country - Or Not

Kossovo is a strange place. It's an independent country, or not, depending on whom you ask; and whomever you ask will give you a reason that has much to do with power politics of one sort or another, and little to do with international law. So now, when someone has decided to break the impasse by going to the International Court of Justice, the general feeling seems to be that the court won't rule clearly one way or the other - because the court itself is political, and its decisions are political, not legal. Assuming there's such a thing as a purely legal decision, which of course there isn't, never was and never can be. Just as no legal system ever operates beyond the cultural, moral or political context in which its legislation was enacted.

Still, it's an interesting story, which I'll be following as it unfolds.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I wish the Kosovars the best of luck. I hope they are able to win the case.

I'm not holding my breath, though; as you say, the ICJ is politicized.