The United Nations had been energetically debating the right of Rhodesia to declare independence unilaterally and the right of South Africa to continue to exercise its League of Nations mandate over South West Africa. But was anybody listening? A serious discussion with a man whose public career began with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1932. FP: "In the case of South West Africa you have that very unfortunate decision of the International Court of Justice, which after six years of deliberation, decided that it didn't have jurisdiction over the South West Africa case." WFB: "Rather, the plaintiff didn't have standing." FP: That's right. They once held four or five years ago that there were very fine distinctions here. One has to dance on the point of a pin to get them entirely."