Ginger Without Borders

What is the function of International Law?

International law is the framework through which the world attempts to achieve far reaching goals – such as human equality – worldwide and increase the quality of life for the human population.

While international decisions which are disregarded (such as that by the ICJ in 2016 when China rejected the court’s decision regarding the South China Sea) are often highlighted as the prime examples of international law (and therefore its failure), international law is not solely the decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). Rather, international law is predominantly the treaties and agreements to which the vast majority of nations regularly obey, such as the Law of the Sea or the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It is important to note that international law is not like national law (wherein all citizens of a respective nation are subjected to the laws of said nation).  Rather, international law is drafted by a group of nations, sometimes with competing interests, and includes a series of compromises which are agreeable to the majority of the participating nations. Once the law is drafted, nations can decide whether to ratify it or not – therefore signaling their intention to be bound by said treaty. It does happen that participating nations chose not to ratify the new law (such as the United States’ failure to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child). However, once a nation has ratified the treaty, that nation is required to comply with it.

International law lacks a vertical form of enforcement, meaning there is not police or military force that enforces international law. Because of this, international law relies on horizontal enforcement (i.e. sanctions and social enforcement by other nations who have also ratified the international treaty). Sometimes this enforcement comes from the United Nations Security Council in the form of a resolution condemning the violating nation (such as when Russia invaded Ukraine). Other times, enforcement comes from the ICJ or PCA (as well as other international judicial bodies) which exist to litigate any potential violations of international law.

Overall, the vast majority of international law is complied with and respected by those who have ratified the respective treaties. International law, therefore, functions as a regime through which nations can mutually agree to terms to which all will be subjected, essentially acting as a farther-reaching, modern form of national pacts.