Topic 1 : No looking away
Introduction: The interim judgment by the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s actions in Gaza signals a moral victory for Palestine and those demanding an end to Israel’s retaliatory violence after Hamas’s October 7 attack.
ICJ and its function
- The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the UN.
- It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
Powers and Functions:
- The Court may entertain two types of cases: legal disputes between States submitted to it by them (contentious cases) and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies (advisory proceedings).
- Only States (which are members of the United Nations and other States which have become parties to the Statute of the Court or which have accepted its jurisdiction under certain conditions) may be parties to contentious cases.
- Advisory proceedings before the Court are only open to five organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family or affiliated organizations.
- The court's judgments in contentious cases are final and binding on the parties to a case and without appeal.
- Unlike the Court’s judgments, advisory opinions are not binding.
- The ICJ decides disputes in accordance with international law as reflected in international conventions, international custom, general principles of law recognized by civilized nations, judicial decisions, and writings of the most highly qualified experts on international law.
The current interim judgment of ICJ
- Even though the Court stopped short of calling for a ceasefire in embattled Gaza, its interim ruling, endorsed by a majority of its judges, is a strong censure of Israel in the genocide case brought by South Africa.
- The ICJ stated that “at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the [Genocide] Convention”, and asked Israel to refrain from, and act against, incitement to genocide and acts of destruction, and ensure distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
- The ruling also ordered the immediate repatriation of hostages by Hamas.
- Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in October, the Palestinian enclave has witnessed over 25,000 deaths, a majority of them women and children.
- The war has also made refugees of nearly 85 percent of Gaza’s population.
The interim judgment will act as moral pressure on Israel and its allies
- While Israel’s compliance with the interim ruling is not mandatory — the Court’s order is legally binding but the ICJ has no enforcement mechanism — it signals an important moment.
- Over the course of the last three-and-a-half months of war, allies such as the US and the UK have repeatedly upheld Israel’s right to self-defence over accountability for its violation of humanitarian laws.
- Soon after October 7, President Joe Biden had participated in an Israeli war cabinet discussion on Israel’s retaliation strategy.
- The UK’s foreign secretary had recently dismissed South Africa’s charge of genocide at the ICJ as unhelpful.
- Both the US and the UK, alongside others, have stopped their funding for the United Nation Relief and Works Agency in Palestine, amid Israel’s charges of complicity against 12 of its staff members in Hamas’s attack on Israel.
- Even though the final verdict may take years to come, the interim judgment creates moral pressure on these nations, making it harder for them to look away.
- The ICJ’s interim verdict came on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
- In part, the Genocide Convention had come up after World War II as a reaction and possible deterrent to catastrophes such as the Holocaust.
- It imagined a recalibration of the international community that would uphold human rights and push one another to do the right thing.
Conclusion: ICJ's interim judgment on Israel's actions in Gaza comes with moral heft, and urges the international community to do the right thing.
Topic 2 : Interim takeaways
Introduction: In a few days from now, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the interim Union budget for 2024-25. This budget will indicate the government’s assessment of current economy before the general election.
What is an Interim Budget?
An interim budget is presented by the government in the Parliament if it does not have the time to present a full budget, or if the general elections are around the corner. If in case the elections are nearing, it is only correct that the incoming government frame the full budget.
- A full budget gives the government of the day spending rights until the end of the financial year (which ends on 31st March).
- In case, the government is not able to present the full budget before the end of the financial year, it will require parliamentary approval for incurring expenditure in the new financial year until a new budget is passed.
- Until the Parliament discusses the budget and passes it (for the whole year), through the interim budget, the government passes a vote-on-account which will allow the government to meet its expenses of administration.
The interim budget will be read closely for what it says on several questions.
1. Government’s assessment of the growth rate of the economy
- The last budget assumed that the economy would grow at 10.5 per cent (in nominal terms) during 2023-24.
- However, as per the first advances estimates, growth is expected to be slower at 8.9 per cent.
- Some indications of the government’s thinking can be found in a finance ministry report titled “The Indian Economy: A Review”, released on Monday.
- According to the report, the economy is likely to grow at 7 per cent in the coming year (in real terms), with growth being driven by healthy domestic demand and supply side measures.
- It restates the expectation of India becoming the third largest economy in the world with a GDP of $5 trillion in the next three years, and says that it can aspire to become a $7 trillion economy by 2030.
2. Incumbent government’s take on fiscal consolidation
- The Centre has managed to bring down its fiscal deficit from 9.2 per cent of GDP in 2020-21 to 6.4 per cent in 2022-23, and considering the trends in revenues and spending so far, most analysts expect it to meet the deficit target of 5.9 per cent this year.
- In her budget speech of 2021-22, the finance minister had stated her intention of bringing down the deficit to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.
- Staying with this path of consolidation implies a steep reduction in the deficit of 1.4 percentage points over the next two years.
3. Government's future commitment to Capital Expenditure
- Over the past few years, the government has ramped up its capital spending, expecting that it would help crowd-in private sector investments.
- Its capex has risen from Rs 5.9 lakh crore in 2021-22 to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24 (BE).
- As per the finance ministry report, overall public sector capex has risen from Rs 5.6 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 18.6 lakh crore in 2023-24 — an increase of 3.3 times.
- The question is whether, or not, public capex will see such a sustained momentum in the coming year.
What should be the way forward?
- Considering that national elections are just a few months away, there are expectations in certain quarters of a greater focus on specific constituencies, such as youth, farmers, and women.
- While political compulsions may well hold sway now, in due course of time the focus must be on pushing through reforms, including in areas such as skilling, learning outcomes and health, as outlined in the finance ministry report, to put the economy on a high growth trajectory that can be sustained.
Conclusion: The interim budget will provide indications of the government’s assessment of the economy, and the contours of its fiscal position. It should continue with the path of fiscal consolidation and long-term reforms in the economy.