07 Oct I *officially* become a Devil
So today, I *officially* become a Devil.
For those of you who don’t know, ‘devilling’ is the term given to a period of ‘pupillage’ (as it’s known in the UK) or internship (for the non-legal-eagle) for freshly qualified Barristers in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, both common law jurisdictions.
Common law jurisdictions rely on precedents. These precedents are standards to follow set out in previous cases with sufficiently similar facts. Lower courts (District Court, Circuit Court) must follow the precedents of superior courts (High Court, the Court of Appeal and at the apex, the Supreme Court). This tradition is known as stare decisis. Common law is far less popular internationally than civil law systems, which approximately 150 of the world’s 195 countries employ. Civil law sytems rely almost exclusively on written laws, that have evolved from Roman and Napoleonic eras. To me, civil law is far more rigid - while common law more malleable. Should law be bendy? A valid line of enquiry which I intend to flesh out in future musings...
The precise etymological origins of ‘devilling’ are inconclusive. Some say it was a borrowed expression from printers’ assistants who were in the 1800s also referred to as devils. To me, there are many more linguistic associations between Satan and the law for it to be without substance. Take for example, ‘the devil is in the detail’ and ‘the devil’s advocate’. I am determined to uncover the origins of this association and will report back with any new findings.
Today is the 7th of October. Personally, I am about to embark on the first day of the rest of my life; the first day of my career. However, the 7th of October heralds a far more resounding marker in my psyche and heavy heart, as the day the genocide began in Gaza. Indeed, the 7th of October is also the day of Hamas’ attack in which roughly 1,200 Israeli’s were killed, and a further 250 taken hostage. That particular attack is being used as a pre-text for advancing the aim of ethnically cleansing the people of Palestinean from their lands. This ‘project’ commenced in 1948 with the mass displacement of 750,000 Palestineans and continues until this present moment. The 7th of October was a flashpoint in this process, after 76 years of suffocation.
The daily horror we can now consume from the (dis)comfort of our beds is an extremely novel, twisted way to engage with world affairs. Without assigning a value judgment to it, we are now in a position where we can ingest extra-judicial killings, war crimes and see total strangers shredded without even leaving our homes. Whether we believe this unparalleled ability to witness horrors from across the world brings with it a potential to bring abut liberation for the people of the world or not - it's happening.
Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC at a conference in the Law Library, one of the advocates for South Africa’s case against Israel in the ICJ. I fangirled (of course), approaching her almost immediately. I conveyed to her the depths to which her advocacy had resonated with me on first watching her; and the extent to which it continues to serve as an inspirational force.
I remember distinctly standing outside the Chocolate Factory on the 26th of January, soaking in an unusually strong Winter Sun and the North American drawl of the Judge administering the ICJ’s provisional measures order. Tears greeted my face as the words “plausible risk” of genocide were uttered – and in that moment, an Atlantic tide of relief coursed through me. In that instant, I felt every fibre of my being exhale ever so slightly. Finally: recognition. There was symmetry between what had being screaming inside of me for months: “THIS IS GENOCIDE” and the verdict being delivered.
I firmly, and full-bodily feel that Palestine is the litmus test of our humanity. We’ve been living an illusory ‘progression’ of liberal values and we in the West have been high horsing the extent of our civilisation for centuries now (clue: colonialism). Self-appointed arbiters of ‘goodness’, we have exported a false depiction of what progress looks like. Coupled with a false narrative about the disparity of development between the Global South and North. Decency cannot be colour-coded. The genocide in Gaza in exposing the contradiction of the so-called developed world. What's worse is we are being gaslight. as a collective by figure heads of State who on the one hand condemn the mass violence and destruction of Palestine; and on the other facilitate the wreckage through the export of munitions of war.
Now, the validity of the rules-based international order is up in the air. That’s a spectacularly precarious global system to live in. Some believe that it’s always been like this, but we (the West, Global North) outsource suffering to far-flung regions. Out of sight, out of mind. That our commitment to democracy, the rule of law and international human rights has long been hollowed out.
So yes. It is a particularly pivotal time to be signing up to a system that is at a make or break. Law is either going to be a part of our deliverance from this double standard of protection of human rights by the international community – or it’s not. Although I can see that law and justice are not mutually inclusive, and the law in and of itself can often not serve justice, the inversion of their separability is not something I can conceive of in the context of an inter-state conflict. How could Palestine receive the justice it merits without invoking some of our pre-agreed standards of morals? If law fails us – we will have to Dream up a new conduit and system to administer justice.
I am going to post a Monday’s Musings weekly moving forward. Sign up to my newsletter if you want it to arrive directly in your inbox.
Until next week.
Beir bua,
L