A full bench of a South African Provincial High Court has recently ruled that a senior judge, John Hlope, cannot appeal an impeachment ruling against him by the Judicial Service Commission. Judge Hlope, accused of having interfered in the functioning of the courts in violation of the Constitution, sought to appeal to Parliament, to have a 'free pass' for his actions.

Recently a Cabinet Minister signalled her candidature for the ruling African National Congress' electoral conference later in 2022 by questioning the basis of the 'colonial' system of rule of law and the loyalty of Black judges to their people. Lindiwe Sisulu is challenging the incumbent President by appealing to a constitution that aims at Radical Economic Transformation of South Africa and  leadership that's above the law. 

In America, it has been four months since a Congressional subpoena was ignored with impunity by one of a group that seems to believe that the ruler of the country should not be subject to the law. In another development, the Supreme Court seems to be considering denial of the right to abortion that has been accepted in most of the modern world, based on a legal argument from the time of witch hunts. 

And in the horrible detail of the war in Ukraine we see the accepted international order that has held since the Peace of Westphalia violated by a regime that threatens unleashing thermonuclear war on anyone opposing the right of the Kremlin to decide for all Russian speakers where their loyalty should lie. 

At the basis of the Abrahamic religions, contained in the codex of Justinian, reaffirmed in the Reformation is a basic principle: that all human beings are equal, that all have the right to decide their own fate. This principle found expression in the writings of Rousseau and Hobbes, in the Constitution of the United States, and in the Charter of the United Nations. 

As modern legal systems are built on the principle of the self-determination of people and the rule of law, so the international system is based on respect for the integrity of sovereign states. Justinian's Codex, found that the citizens transfer their sovereignty, their imperium, to their ruler, who is then answerable to them. This is the principle at question, and one may well ask why this is now being drawn into question. The adherents of the Islamic State misunderstood this principle to their detriment by refusing to recognize the territorial integrity of other states.

The success of the Ukrainian defense and the failure of the Russian attack comes down to one difference: the Ukrainian fighters are defending their hard-won right to decide their own political affiliation, and the Russians are carrying out orders.

The international system is balanced between free economies, political systems and personal rights on the one hand, and authoritarian command systems of economics, politics and personal rights in service of those in authority on the other. 

Will Justice remain blind and impartial, or will he be a card-carrying Party member?