A World Indifferent to the Law
A World Indifferent to the Law In today’s world, almost everyone talks about the law; yet the world’s problem is not the absence of laws. Rather, the problem is that the law often loses its importance when compared with power. Governments have constitutions, sign international treaties, establish national and international courts, and defend justice and human rights in official declarations. Yet when the enforcement of the law conflicts with the political or security interests of a major power, the political discourse suddenly changes. What one person considers a “violation of the law” may be described by another as “necessity,” “national security,” or “exceptional circumstances.” This raises the fundamental question: If the law is not the same for everyone, what determines the boundary between law and power? The law, as long as it does not challenge power. In relations between countries, the law has always faced a fundamental problem: its enforcement is not as independent from po...