A Decision Unworthy of Us

The World Court, formally known as the International Court of Justice, is a fragile nstitution designed to uphold the rule of law among nations. It has no power to summon parties to international disputes to appear before it, and no force to compel obedience to its decisions. But it is important. It represents an impulse by its signatory nations to substitute reason for brute force in quarrels between governments.

The United States, which accepted the World Court’s jurisdiction nearly 40 years ago, has been one of the tribunal’s strongest supporters. This government made use of the court in filing a suit against Iran over the seizure of American diplomats in Tehran. When Iran refused to respond, the court, at the insistence of the United States, continued with the proceedings and found Iran’s seizure of the hostages illegal. Iran ignored the decision.

It is the United States that is now defying the World Court. The Reagan Administration will boycott further proceedings in a suit by Nicaragua that accuses the United States of mining Nicaragua’s harbors and supplying armed aid to rebels against the Nicaraguan regime. The action is the first time that the United States has withdrawn from a case in the World Court.

The Reagan Administration advanced two principal arguments against the jurisdiction of the court over the Nicaraguan claim. First, the United States asserted that it was not subject to the court because Washington served notice before Nicaragua filed the suit that this government would not accept the court’s authority over any disputes in Central America. Second, the United States argued that Nicaragua had no standing in the court because it had not formally accepted the court’s jurisdiction. The court dismissed both of these assertions, which at best were technical maneuvers to avoid full hearings on our intervention in Nicaragua.

What effect will our withdrawal have on the world? It will create the impression that the United States is unwilling to defend its actions in Nicaragua unless assured of a favorable decision by the court in advance. That was true of Iran in the hostage situation, but such a paltry position is unworthy of a great nation like the United States.