The Oh, Hello and

welcome to Behind the News. My name is Doug Henwood. Order is restored.

Two guests today. Heidi Matthews will explain what the World Court is all about in general

and then specifically what the cases

against Israel mean and in a detour off the usual behind the news beaten track

Elijah Wald will look into the world of Jelly Row Morton one that has come down to us in a highly sanitized

version.

Dr. Nere Marxist that I am, I don't normally give much thought to institutions like the

International Court of Justice, aka the World Court. International relations strikes me as the realm of

power politics and legal niceties just don't count for much.

But I was surprised by the political effect of the court's decision in January, based on a case brought by South Africa, that there was a plausible case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The decision didn't stop the genocide, and as you'll hear from my first question to Heidi Matthews,

my skepticism survives despite these political effects, but it did move public opinion some,

and not just popular opinion, but apparently elite opinion as well.

And now Nicaragua has filed suit against Germany for supplying weapons to Israel,

further complicating the lives of the genus Edures and their enablers.

Here to explain these judicial goings on

as Heidi Matthews. She is an assistant professor at the Osgood Hall Law School of York

University in Toronto. Among her specialties are International Criminal Law and the Law of War,

meaning that unlike many people who opine on these topics she actually knows what she's talking about.

When Heidi says today she's referring to Tuesday April 9th when this interview was

recorded. Heidi Matthews. Let's start with some general questions about the

...