court of world opinion

English

Noun

court of world opinion (plural courts of world opinion)

1. Synonym of court of public opinion
   • 2017 July 10, Eric R. Mandel, “Is Jewish unity an Israeli national-security issue?”, in The Jerusalem Post‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-07-01:

     Addressing this problem should be considered an Israeli national defense priority, as Israel needs American Jewish support to defend itself in the court of world opinion, in Congress, fighting boycotts worldwide and to resist journalistic and organizational attacks that aim to delegitimize its very existence.

   • 2019 September 19, Patrick Wintour, “Saudi oil attack shines light on geopolitical truth and lies”, in The Guardian‎^[2], archived from the original on 2022-04-30:

     In seeking to disentangle responsibility for Saturday's attack on the Saudi oil installations, which was claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels but blamed by Riyadh and Washington on Iran itself, the court of world opinion has to bear in mind many of those coming forward to give evidence could, in David Cameron's phrase, be reasonably described as occasionally "leaving the truth at home".

   • 2022 May 23, Yana Dlugy, “The War Comes to Davos”, in The New York Times‎^[3], archived from the original on 2022-06-25:

     Davos, the Alpine resort where the world's business and political elite meet annually, served as a stark reminder of just how far Russia had fallen in the court of world opinion.

Usage notes

• Generally used in an international context, whereas court of public opinion usually refers to local or national issues.

Further reading

• “the court of public/world opinion”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.