It's The Law 100309

In the last several years a great deal of American ink has been spilled over the virtue of the “Rule of Law” for emerging nations and the international order.

International law as we know it originated when the Old World powers began attempting to bring some order in the anarchical system of states. However there are traces of an international legal order even before there were nation states. The Code of Hammurabi from around 1790 BCE served as a model for many nations’ legal development. The Persians, Greeks and Romans contributed as did the Quran’s laws on warfare that were not matched for another 1200 years by the western world. In the west the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia is recognized as the foundation of today’s international law.

For the next 300 year there was a slow evolution of rules between states. In the last 60 years however, there have been more new laws propagated than in the previous four millennium. It is more than coincident that this period coincides with the rise of the American Century. As the last great power standing at the end of World War Two America returned to pushing its Wilsonian vision of world order. The basics of Wilsonianism are:
* Advocacy of self-determination by ethnic groups
* Advocacy of the spread of democracy
* Advocacy of the spread of Capitalism
* Anti-Imperialism, in favor of intervention to help create peace and spread freedom.

Through a great deal of economic and military arm twisting America churned out reams of international laws applying to everyone but America itself. Some of these laws were good and served to maintain peace and spread equality; many of these laws however served only American interest. America embraces an even more ancient law, “Might makes Right.” As the world recovered for WW2’s destruction states began to rebel against American unilateralism. When America passed laws that it could arrest foreign nationals anywhere in the world the Iranian government passed a similar law that it could arrest American citizens anywhere. Following another American lead once powerful Spain passed its own version of the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which holds that heinous crimes such as torture or terrorism can be tried in Spain even if they have no link to Spain.

America quietly applauded Spain’s move as long the focus was on its own enemies. Recently Spain has used its law to pursue current or former officials in Israel over its bombings in the Gaza Strip, in the United States over treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and China over alleged abuses in Tibet. Spanish jurist ran into trouble when they began to look back at the abuses of their Civil war. Like Spain America cries foul when international laws are applied to itself.

Law is an interesting concept, if it is to be considered just it must apply equally to all. It is even more important that the originator of laws must subject itself to their provisions. The whole world is waiting its turn at enforcement and looks for America’s stumble.