A few months ago, I found myself returning to a question I could not shake.

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The International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The allegations are serious and remain matters for legal determination, but the warrants exist.

Like anyone who has studied international law, I understand the mechanics: The ICC has no police force, international law relies heavily on state cooperation, jurisdiction, enforcement, diplomacy and political reality are all part of the equation.

And yet the question remained.

If the international community creates rules, courts and accountability mechanisms, what happens when they collide with power?

That question is bigger than Israel. Bigger than Netanyahu. Bigger than any individual case.

Because every legal system eventually reaches the same crossroads: the point at which principle becomes inconvenient.

That is where we discover whether we truly believe in the rules or merely admire them in theory.

One of the first ideas law students encounter is the rule of law. The concept is deceptively simple: Power should answer to principle, the law should apply equally, governments should be subject to legal constraints, nobody should be beyond scrutiny.

It is an extraordinary idea.

The rule of law depends upon public belief that the rules mean something. Not always, not perfectly, not instantly, but consistently enough that people trust the system is trying.

Most people understand that justice is complex. They understand that courts make mistakes and governments get things wrong. Human beings are far more forgiving of imperfection than institutions often realise.

What people struggle to forgive is inconsistency. They struggle with the impression that consequences arrive swiftly for some and slowly for others. They notice when accountability appears........

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