The International Court of Justice has become the scene of perhaps the most pivotal moment in the history of the world's highest judicial body. Israel became, for the first time in its history, the subject of a possible lawsuit for the crime of genocide.
This came through a request submitted by South Africa to the court, accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The lawsuit against Israel demonstrated the extent of the international division over it, but it also raised a deep debate about the roots of the effects of politics in international justice.