In this course we neither present international law as the ‘silver bullet’ that will solve the problem of Palestine nor dismiss law’s usefulness altogether. Instead, we offer participants a perspective framed around three key orientations: 

(a)   Developing a resistance theory of international law

The critical theoretical orientation of this programme is informed by the scholarly tradition of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). For TWAIL lawyers and scholars international law must be understood in its historical context: recognising the role that law has played within past imperialism and its foundation within colonial violence – both actual and symbolic. It is also important to recognise that this history continues to influence the present. TWAIL encourages us to pay attention to contemporary forms of power and the ways in which the world continues to be divided between an elite minority and a disempowered/oppressed global majority. What, they ask, is the role of international law in maintaining and/or resisting this global order?

For a background to TWAIL see: https://criticallegalthinking.com/2019/04/02/twail-coordinates/

(b)  The relationship between law and social/political activism - A ‘movement lawyer’ approach

At the same time, many TWAIL lawyers have not just critiqued international law – they have continued to actively engage with it as practitioners. This is because they recognise the powerful authority that law can offer to actors using it and the legitimacy law can provide to claims made in its name. In this sense, activist or movement lawyers have often seen law as a resource or a tool to be used within a broader social struggle. By invoking it they do not simply defer to law’s authority nor do they ignore its possible investment in reinforcing existing power relations. Rather they try to strategically, pragmatically or even subversively use law to add weight to their demands.

For more on the movement lawyering movement see: https://www.movementlawlab.org/about/movement-lawyering

(c)   A practical approach

This takes us to the question of practice. In this course we are not only interested in critically analysing what the law has done or what it can or should do. As people committed to seeing justice for Palestinians and a long-term solution to the situation in Palestine, we want to explore how law might help us in this process. This means not only understanding what has and is already being done but also exploring what we might want to see in the future. To do this effectively requires us to develop our ability to practically use the law with a focus on the skills we might need as human rights advocates, lawyers, policy makers.  For this reason the course will integrate discussions with practitioners and activities aimed at helping develop practical skills.