The Mandate
For whom international law matters
"If international law […] is not respected then the alternative in the long run will be chaos..."
Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, former ICJ Judge.
Researched and filmed for over eight years, with unprecedented access to judges from the International Court of Justice as well as leading experts in international law, diplomacy and politics, The Mandate takes us on a deeply personal and philosophical journey into the battle of relevancy for international law. As lawful borders are invaded, cries of dissent are stamped out and fake news goes viral, the film poses the question ‘who holds the right and responsibility – the mandate – to act’?
Extended Version
The West Bank separation barrier/Wall – built by Israel to separate Israelis and Palestinians - was begun in 2002 and is ongoing today. It was erected without consulting any Palestinians and has severed their communities, families and ancestral lands. In 2004 the International Court of Justice (ICJ), created by the UN to handle disputes between nations, ruled that the Wall violated international law and should be dismantled. The ICJ has no enforcement power; carrying out its decisions is up to the international community. Twenty years later, nothing has been done.
In 2015, Stefan Ziegler - following a long career centered on humanitarian action including nine years in Palestine working on refugee issues - having witnessed firsthand the pain and misery created by the Wall and how the ICJ’s decision has been ignored, decided to advocate through the medium of film. The result was the 2018 award-winning film BROKEN – A Palestinian Journey Through International Law which screened at numerous festivals worldwide, received strong press reviews and continues a successful run on the educational circuit. With the positive impact of his film BROKEN, Ziegler now returns with an ambitious new film The Mandate, which builds on the themes explored in BROKEN, pulling back the focus to take a broad look at the current state of international law.
The Mandate unfolds as a triptych. In part one - a series of unprecedented interviews with judges from the International Court of Justice reveals their thoughts on the lack of action by the international community on their ruling on the Wall while also addressing the importance and fragility of international law.
In part two, Ziegler steps in front of the camera and reveals his impassioned philosophical journey regarding international justice and what he sees as a way forward to preserve and empower it. He
makes a convincing case for why international justice matters and his personal commitment to strengthening it.
And in part three, Ziegler moves from individual responsibility to that of the global community. From the idea of the traditional public square –the birthplace of public discourse and policy - Ziegler turns to our modern public square, the Zoom meeting. Here, a diverse group of people he has crossed paths with throughout his career – intellectuals, activists, heads of NGO’s, international law experts, policy makers and members of his film crew - share their thoughts on the path forward for international justice.
Each part of this triptych builds towards a solution and ultimately hope for what has become an intransigent and desperate international quagmire; beginning with the judges who sound the alarm on the urgent need of support for international justice, to the filmmaker taking up this mandate to civil society’s role and responsibilty.
The Mandate thus acts as a dynamic intellectual journey, reaching its destination in the power of the people to uphold what is crucially important and manifest the justice that everyone deserves.