Enunciados de questões e informações de concursos
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Israel is in the dock again. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is investigating the legality of the security fence being raised on the West Bank. Even a numb er of Israel’s traditional friends are alarmed by the policy. Some worry that the fence will harm the Palestinian economy, cutting off workers from their factories and farms. Others see it as an attempt to extend Israel’s border beyond its pre-1967 limit and feel that such walls have no place in the modern world.
These are major objections and they deserve to be answered separately. First, though, it is worth asking why this question should have come before the Hague judges at all. The ICJ is not a supreme court; it is an arbitration panel. It provides a mechanism whereby two states can, by mutual agreement, refer a dispute to third-party lawyers. By sending this case to the Hague, the UN is striking at the principle of territorial jurisdiction that ultimately underpins diplomatic relations. That principle is already threatened by the European courts at Strasbourg and Luxembourg, and by the refusal of Spanish and Belgian judges to recognise national sovereignty. We are slowly returning to the pre-modern idea that lawmakers need not be accountable to the people, but rather to abstract ideals.
Faced with a choice between international disapprobation and more Israeli deaths, Mr Sharon has understandably opted for the former. He believes that the fence would have prevented yesterday’s atrocity in Jerusalem, and he is almost certainly right. Gaza is already cordoned off, and no Palestinian terrorists have penetrated the barrier in the past three years (although two British Muslims were able to do so on the strength of their UK passports).
Daily Telegraph, London, February 23rd , 2004 (with adaptations).
Concerning the text above, judge the following item.
In line 1, the phrase “ in the dock” means accused in court, and, in line 9, “ underpins” can be correctly replaced by supports.
Outras questões do mesmo concurso: IRBr / Diplomata / 2004
