EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 18 , 2022

On What Basis Does the ‘Rule of Law’ Derive Its Authority?

March 17, 2022 (EIRNS)—Asking whether Putin’s actions in Ukraine are illegal under international law raises the question of whether international law exists at all. Is “international law” simply a phrase used by the Anglo-American establishment to attack its enemies? Or do there truly exist mechanisms for enforcement of international law and norms under which it is obeyed?

Surveying the responses to the U.K.-U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the later murderous adventures in Libya and Syria, one would be forced to conclude that there simply is no such thing as “international” law. If there were, would not sanctions have been applied against the U.S. and U.K.? Has George W. Bush been brought before the International Criminal Court? Of course not—laws are for others.

Economically, has the rule of law been applied? Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Russian foreign reserves have essentially been stolen from that nation. The United States unilaterally seized $7 billion of reserves from Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on the planet, and one which had just been occupied by the U.S. for two decades. Have Chinese telecom companies Huawei and Pacific Networks been banned entirely for “national security” reasons, or are economic factors at play as well?

A new international security and development architecture is urgently needed, to put in place a system of peace through development whose guiding principles provide a moral basis for law and the means by which it is created—through a mission for the good, achieved through greater coherence with natural law.

Under such a system, law takes its authority not merely through some method of discussion and consent, but by virtue of its internal merit.

Join the LaRouche movement in creating the conditions for an international system of natural law. On April 9, the Schiller Institute will be holding an international conference dedicated to the subject of its petition for “a new security and development architecture for all nations.” Details soon to follow.