Can International Law Stop Putin's War on Ukraine?
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
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A war of aggressor is clearly illegal under international law, isn't it?
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Sorry, occupational hazard: This is not legal advice, nor can I give you legal advice. I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. Sorry! Everything here is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed to form an attorney-client relationship. Also, some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But if you click, it really helps me make more of these videos! All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
1:40 - Chapter 1 - Background to conflict
4:20 - Chapter 2 - International law explained
6:50 - Chapter 3 - Treaties
8:25 - Chapter 4 - General principles of civilized nations
9:15 - Chapter 5 - Other sources of law
9:35 - Chapter 6 - What about the UN ?
10:20 - Chapter 7 - What about the security council ?
12:35 - Chapter 8 - Use of force under international law
13:00 - Chapter 9 - Exceptions
14:30 - Chapter 10 - Self defence
15:35 - Chapter 11 - Is the war in Ukraine illegal under international war ?
Special thanks:
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images
Music provided by Epidemic Sound
Short links by pixelme.me (pxle.me/eagle)
How do you think the war will end?
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Hello
Thank you for this video.
With Nestor Makhno rising from his grave, wagging his finger and saying, "Not this time, Russia."
Thank you for making this video!!!
with much more bloodshed.
"International Law is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules.” - Captain Barbossa
Had a good laugh on that one 😆
and you have to be a politic... I mena Pirate to follow the code.
"I'm disinclined to acquiesce your request."-Capt Barbosa
Fr lol!!
🤣🤣 Legend
Being robbed?
Just say: “No”
A thief cannot legally take your possessions without your consent
Better yet, if an acquaintance is taking your stuff, just say “I withdraw my consent!” and now you can sue them for illegally taking it. :D
...and a thief can get shot dead for it too!
@@robinmiller5256 if they werent imminently threatening you with deadly force... enjoy your time in jail for doing so.
@@robinmiller5256 Not if they don't consent to being shot. Jeez, where did you even GO to law school?
@@pbgd3
Hard to imagine a robber who isn't imminently threatening to you.
Here in Ukraine the UN's deep concern had become a running joke, but alas, we don't have any other international law system. Thanks for taking time to explain at least a part of the whole ordeal.
There in Ukraine you were arming up to directly attack Russia, we know this because Poroshenko, Hollande and Merkel all admittted it earlier this year.
"It's really hard to speak a dead language"
Me who had to endure 5 years of Latin classes back in high school in Italy: *I feel you*.
Amō latīnam
@@steakfilly5199 Etiam amo!
It's actually not that hard-people often miss the fact that "dead language" doesn't mean "not spoken anymore", it means "not spoken _natively_ anymore". There still many people speaking some degree of Latin, and some are even fluent in it-and same for a few others (Ancient Greek, Sanskrit come to mind)
It’s not just international law: all laws are only worth what people or groups with power are prepared to spend on enforcing them.
There is no Law between States.
@@Homeschoolsw6 yes there are, but they are worthless if not enforced
@@lurau6319 Yes, different comment I guess. Laws need enforcing. Otherwise why write @ll those words down?
Countries pick and choose what Laws they'll have, when they'll enforce them and with whom. Depending on circumstances and fortune. The US is against all kinds of actions on the international stage, then they do the same things , the things they say they are against. Say one thing...do another.
@@lurau6319 " An ambassador is an honest man, sent to lie abroad for the good of his country. " scuse me.
@@lurau6319 and the "enforcers" are totally non-biased and always just.
From my time taking international law courses in law school I learned that international law is primarily a set of fluid guidelines that are only meaningful when backed by real military and economic power. The few times when international law tried to break free from this countries just ignored it.
So it's the Code from Pirates of the Caribbean? 😂
Basically USA v. Nicaragua
@@corruptangel6793 Pretty much. It's a strong suggestion, with consequences for violating it. Usually. It's not just rogue nations like Russia that have done it; the United States did the same with the Iraq War, and as previously mentioned, Nicaragua.
Putin doesn't care about any laws. He follows none. He's a white supremacist mass murderer, and a despot who imprisons, tortures, and murders anyone who criticizes the Russian government. He's a pathetic coward just like the Republicans who support him and have openly praised his invasion while blaming Biden for it.
As one of my law professors said, people talk about international law, but it really doesn't exist.
wrote a 5 page paper on the russia ukraine tensions back in december 2021 and it STILL barely scratched the surface yall he’s not wrong when he says this issue is insanely complicated
What is complicated?
Russia always stealing from neighbors : history, traditions, icons, territory, life of people.
Russia uses 8 years Donbass
it really isn't complicated. ukraine is under the control of a nazi puppet state, russia is liberating russian speaking territory and demilitarizing the fascist regime in ukraine that was installed by the west. if you support ukraine, you support imperialism and fascism. simple as that. you could def go into more detail, but that is more than enough of a factual understanding of the situation for the average non-statesman.
I had one as a high school student taking International Relations, and the textbook wasn’t even updated. This conflict is incredibly interesting and complicated, and watching it progress is both fascinating and worrying.
The EU is an interesting experiment in actual, manifest international law, where 27 countries suborn parts of their national self-rule to a extranational organization. Especially the EEA members (Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein) are interesting because they have a rubber-stamp agreement where they approve every legislation coming in from the EU, without actually being members with voting rights.
I don't know if the African Union is built on the same model, but it is an interesting exception to the general rule that international obligations are only binding as long as A) the country in question agrees, or B) the rest of the countries gang up to enforce it.
To be fair, for the system in the EU to even work there are so many asterisks in their documents that they outnumber the letters. My home country of Sweden isn't following a wide array of EU law, such as animal welfare, tobacco usage, logging industry and currency just to name a few. This is what I think is the primary problem/challenge with the EU, and why many people grumble over legislators in brussels deciding over matters they don't understand, myself included.
When it was a member, the UK had a standing veto against EU legislation, allowing it to decline to adopt any passed law which it felt contradicted UK law or worked against the interests of the UK.
They still have issues with quite a few central/Eastern European nations though, in that they have cultural norms (and laws supporting/prohibiting them) which are in direct conflict with some EU laws, and some governments have been refusing to adopt the EU laws over their own
The simple fact is that, unlike somewhere like the US, the wide expanse of Europe was not gradually settled/colonised by one or two key sociocultural groups gradually spreading west. That allowed the US to be constructed of states which held similar cultural beliefs. In Europe, much like the original Native American tribes, the population started as multiple diverse clans (“nations”) which grew independently with their own customs until they agreed borders and territories as separate states. Over such a large area, the range of cultures and customs differed wildly. For example, there are customs in Spain which aren’t matched in Switzerland, and both have customs different to those in Turkey or Sweden.
This means that it is nearly impossible to craft a collection of laws which are the same across all the states. Sooner or later, some states will raise objections as they contradict their laws or beliefs.
I mean, if one of the members of the EU decides that it no longer wants to follow the laws of the EU and doesn't care about any of the possible economic repercutions (such as sanctions or losing it's membership) the only real way the other members of the EU have to enforce their will is by overt military force. There is a reason why force is called the ultimate authority.
@@garibaldilebeau there's more cultural homogeneity in Europe than you believe. All christian nations and all liberal democracies, and many countries share a lot in terms of culture, like the romance coubtries and the germanic ones. Besides, Switzerland has done just that for centuries, the country is made out of 4 different ethnicities, french, italian, german and romansch. Seriously, tge role model for the EU is located right at its center.
How is that different? EU countries agree to those rules.
1:40 - Chapter 1 - Background to conflict
4:20 - Chapter 2 - International law explained
6:50 - Chapter 3 - Treaties
8:25 - Chapter 4 - General principles of civilized nations
9:15 - Chapter 5 - Other sources of law
9:35 - Chapter 6 - What about the UN ?
10:20 - Chapter 7 - What about the security council ?
12:35 - Chapter 8 - Use of force under international law
13:00 - Chapter 9 - Exceptions
14:30 - Chapter 10 - Self defence
15:35 - Chapter 11 - Is the war in Ukraine illegal under international war ?
18:25 - End roll ads
Don't you just love "international law"
MVP
Brilliant, thanks! 🙏👍🙏👍
Thanks bro
Thank you, time stamp hero. ❤️
Having somebody who actually knows what they're talking explain situations and laws in a way that is easy to understand and often entertaining is a recouce I'm very glad we have. Jeep up the good work man.
Jeep up the good work.
Ford up the good work man.
Fiat Chrysler Dodge up the good work
Tesla up the good work man.
Despite your typos I agree. Jeep learnin’ 😉
UN: “Russia, you’re not on the security council, that seat was held by the Soviet Union which your no longer are”
Russia: “we are the Soviet Union”
UN: “I thought you guys broke up”
Soviet Union: “that’s what we wanted you to think!”
I'd really like to see this discussed more, as the United States did something similar with France in order to avoid aiding the First French Republic in war. The argument was that the treaty was signed by King Louis and as the people had beheaded King Louis, the treaty no longer had any force.
I mean, Russia literally left the USSR-and wasn't even the last country to do so (Kazakhstan was), so... there's a argument to be had. But it's generally recognized that Russia succeeded the USSR, though I don't know if it's codified in any treaty.
Your argument is disingeuous.
Thank you very much for taking this topic on, as you has taken on a number of serious legal topics LegalEagle.
I appreciate the info very much for clarifying areas of this horrible war I had no real clue about.
I also thank you for encouraging people to help Ukraine on some level with the browser add on.
You are a great tribute to lawyers everywhere!
The coherent theme of most legal analysis content I watch to listen to seems to be, "If you did it, straight to jail. But when someone powerful does it, probably not."
The problem is not "is he breaking the law", but "can we actually make that mean something"? It's not like we can just send "international cops" to Moscow and arrest Putin.
true, when USA attack Iraq, there are millions of protestors and UN declared it illegal, but USA stll go thru with it anyway. They didnt get any repercussions for it despite unable to prove Al-Qaeda links and the existence of nuclear weapons development
Laws are only as good as they are enforced, it's true. "International Law" is more like...a set of polite suggestions.
International Law is just a method of tracking Nations we collectively find appalling at a specific time.
It just gives us a criteria to be angry.
@@yobrodontshoot1130 And many moustaches were rustled that day in disgust, more than a few monocles fell to the floor and shattered...
International law is more down the line of "If I don't do it, then I can expect you not to do it either". So more like a code of conduct or honor, which serves as common ground the interact with other countries without needing to fear extremely crazy things happenening
Or "If you don't do it why should you expect me to?'
Then nutjobs like Putin enter the chat.....His code of Conduct is "Me first, then the Soviet Un-er..I mean Russia"
@@handsoftheSinner Umm "If I don't do it, then I can expect you not to do it either" - The first thing that comes to mind in this context is 2003 Iraq invasion. And then the multitude of times NATO breached the sovereignty of many, many countries.
@@Raseef38801 idk why you tagged me in a response irrelevant to what I said but.. okay?
@@handsoftheSinner Yeah I probably hit the wrong 'Reply' button.
It's not totally irrelevant though. George Bush was the first nutjob in the chat. Putin is just trying to imitate him.
I started watching you in high school for fun. Now, I’m applying to law school and internships at The Hague.
Keep everyone updated!!! We may need your expertise one day in the future. 😁
Good luck
Absolutely top stuff. Helped me get through my Introduction to International Law final.
Love your work
Appreciating this deep dive focus on the question, "What is International Law?" And coming to the grim result that the answer is, "Only as powerful as its enforcement."
To be honest, all law is only as powerful as we enforce it. There’s a reason everybody jaywalks even though it’s technically illegal
The bigger issue is that international law is a system of treaties that nations voluntarily agree to. There is no global authority that can enforce laws on entire nations against their will.
@@frownyclowny6955 What i consider incompetent Gunpowder-Nations:
USA, China, Russia, North-Korea and now, just new to the Friends-Group, Afghanistan.
Those are Gunpowder-Barrels that need to be stopped at all Price.
So: Lets do nothing.
I'm sure 'Some More News', the UA-camr, will also agree. It's not like he and others have Improvement-Advice and such-and-such.
But even ignoring him anyway: Lets do Nothing.
Another N-Korea has literally just been founded and literal Barbarians rule over Afgahnistan now, so whatever.
i just realized watching this that the reason russia is investing so heavily in propaganda in india is because they currently have a seat on the security council and if they have india and china on their side it will make it much harder for them to be removed from it
Just like all laws.
Historically speaking, the real use of international law is resolving the end of wars rather than outlaw it. Sure, you can make war illegal, but presumably if a country is doing a big invade, then they don't care about the surrounding international law. When the war is over, though, it allows the winners and losers to be prosecuted for their actions by the international community with a decent framework to ensure an aproximately just level of sanctions and terms.
Ho just use the system and make shit up to justify any action.
Winner writes history and trials after all.
Yeah idk, its arguable that the point is to oppress a certain nation or group of people. Plenty of examples where an international committee pretends to do something out of a bleeding heart but is actually crippling an enemy of the state's economy.
@@jebactychpolicjantow5497 oh yeah, there's plenty of that to. The borders of the middle east being a prime example. Iraq is basically indefensible and has a water supply at the whims of its neighbors further northwest. Not to mention the dozen mile coastline that renders it basically landlocked and incapable of being a naval power. The result means they are garunteed to go to war periodically for the sake of survival.
More like the losers be prosecuted not the winners and losers
Law is simply legal enforcement of ones will.
The tie is a nice touch, Eagle.
Just signed up to TAB FOR CAUSE. What a great idea. Thanks for the heads-up on this.
Really, whomever came up with the Security Council rules should have included a stipulation that a country who is both a permanent member and a belligerent in a conflict cannot take part in the vote. Yes I would have this apply to the United States and their forever wars as I would the current Soviet Un- I mean Russia.
If that were the case, the USSR would never have joined the UN.
The other four Permanent Council Members were the USA, France, the UK, and Nationalist China.
If they were able to enforce international law against the USSR with impunity, the UN would've been a free world-only organization, which defeats its purpose as an international forum for diplomacy.
@@adamvale945 A international forum for diplomacy is almost as pointless if some of the main offenders are given the power to effectively ignore rules.
@@darthplagueis13 It's quite useful for small nations, which otherwise would rarely get their issues discussed at all.
People easily forget, but before the UN diplomacy between multiple nations was exceedingly rare.
Without international organizations like the UN, corralling the nations of the world to get the number of sanctions leveled against Russia we've seen recently would've been impossible.
thing is... there IS a rule like that. A country is obliged to abstain on any dispute they're a party to, so in principle Russia's veto should have been counted as an abstention, though in practice that rule is never enforced.
Yes, but include temporary members too.
I never thought about whether a war was "legal" or not. I've always thought invading another sovereign country was not exactly legal, and definitely immoral.
After hitler they loosely agreed that wars based on territorial expansion were wars of Aggression and Aggression was 'Illegal'. WW2 effect.
the iraq war is one of the most important and intresting of why the un doesnt exactly work, the us made a claim that they had proof of the production of weapons of mass destruction in iraq (the proof turned out to be fake) and when the war ended they found no further proof that there were "weapons of mass destruction" the us called it "a big mistake" and there was no form action taken against the aggressors of the war
@@xristoskoumpourlis1614 I just found out that Yemen was the only country at the UN who voted against that War. I failed to note it at the time. ....... Anyway Yes you are right I think. Nato has the teeth that the UN should have had. but no nuclear diplomecy for UN.
If you declare war and have a proper casus belli, it's not illegal.
@@vitkosbence3705 Well thematically i think i hear you but the history is not as speculative as you are describing quite. Wars of Aggression are technically illegal and the argument between nations specifically goes back to hitler and Poland, although the factors you are describing were and are at play. Wars of aggression were likewise rejected politically over the same events globally by 1955 and earlier by a few years for most of the world - this attitude was similar to the dramatically changed attitude of the masses of all countries towards trench warfare after WW1. nothing you say is wrong but there is a little less room to be speculative as the history is universally clear. Wars of Aggression got their bookmark in the legalese due to WW2. Many slimy workarounds have transpired since and I'm pretty sure only one African country and Yugoslavia and one more country (Africa i think but not sure atm) are the only countries to date to be prosecuted for war crimes. It's all slimy as heck and hypocritical but it is there. like the half thought out laws around hate speech that are half enforced or used against us - a good lawyer or a clear situation makes it workable, otherwise lies destroy most of what is real. Like Zelensky's lies about a no fly zone. he is selfish and reckless. Not that I'm cheering for the other side or anything. Russia is wrong, and Ukraine is acting a fool as well. it's all a mess. this ones about 'Nuclear diplomacy' as well. An even less stable situation that. fingers crossed they all stop purring gas on the fire.
the blue and yellow tie is a nice touch
Boy, I love and am so grateful for all these comments basically explaining what LegalEagle explains in the video and adding little to no new perspective
!
I have great respect to both Ukrainian defenders and Russian anti-war protesters. Also great sympathy to Ukrainian civilians, and young Russian conscripts who were fooled to go to war. Best wishes from Finland.
Me too... I don't know if it's true, but I read that Russia uses conscription as a punishment, meaning some of those young soldiers might have been basically declared enemies of the state, forced into the military, and thrown into a dangerous situation as cannon fodder. It's beyond horrifying, and I hope they're given the chance to escape somehow.
@@solitarelee6200 That's really despicable and inhumane, and dare I say, ironically anti-Russian.
My country has mandatory military conscription for 2 years, and I am horrified to learn that the front line soldiers are young men going through a phase, and made to lose their lives because of their leaders.
My hearts go out to them, and I hope for an early ceasefire, so we can protect not just Ukrainians, but also Russians who suffer under a select few's madness.
@@Kirinboy39 Ukrainians don't want or need Russian protection. They need protection FROM Putin. Have you not noticed there isn't any footage of Russian soldier's being greeted like hero's? You've either been lied to by a crazy old dictator, QAnon or you're a troll.
I was watching this go down & was noting the similarities to the Russian invasion of Finland during WWII. I can only hope the world doesn't come out of this hating the Russian people. This war is just aweful from all angles.
Distant Finnish myself. I hope one day to visit.
@@babababuck I don't think they're saying what you think their saying, you have the spirit tho.
Finding someone guilty of a crime, or holding someone to their agreement, is fine. The trouble comes with enforcement.
Absolutely.
The three foundations of government:
1. Make rules.
2. Identify infractions of the rules.
3. Enforce the rules.
Politicians deal with #1. Judges and lawyers deal with #2. The police deal with #3.
How do you do that on an international scale? A lot of powerful nations dislike the idea of someone else messing with their nation.
@@JaharNarishma In theory, the enforcement side would come from the security council and from member nations donating troops to the cause. In practice, the veto power of the 5 permanent members makes them somewhat above the law, since they can prevent stuff they don't like. Having to rely on donated troops is also problematic since they end up in situations where nobody is willing to send enough to do any good.
@@randomstuff-qu7sh it's mostly "neutral" & "peaceful" countries that send their soldiers as peacekeeping forces. Well peaceful until some shit goes down domestically.
@@randomstuff-qu7sh Which is why the current version of the Security Council should be abolished. That's like having only a select few in a democracy allowed to vote and any of these elites able to veto a vote. Ridiculous and outdated.
This has really widened my knowledge on international law , Thanks a lot
6:41 On a completely unrelated note can I just say that I adore this stock footage.
I love the fact the only person wearing a hat is the Australian and it's a Akubra too, it brings me joy.
Love the tie, Devin
I like the choice of tie. Keep it smooth, my good man.
Real talk though, international law is a topic I've always wanted to get into, but it seems so "hand-wavy". Glad to see you're dipping into the subject.
I did a master's in international law, and this was a good general overview
please make more videos on international law, this was very informative and helpful
"Can International Law Stop Putin's War on Ukraine" is a bit like saying "Can making theft illegal stop people from stealing things?"
The answer is that it only STOPS people who are willing to follow the rules. The real question is if the perpetrator will actually be punished meaninfully. That isn't going to be very helpful for the people of Ukraine if it only happens after the fact.
Yea I was gonna post something like this. Putin doesn't seem to care at all about international law, despite him knowing he is violating it. Then on top of it, his army is committing war crimes in Ukraine, and still, he doesn't care.
Superpowers have been walking past the line because they're bullies.
The punishment is happening during the crime in this case, which weakens Russia's economy, thus indirectly weakening Russia's military. It's something.
My dad used to say "Fences and locks are there to keep the honest people out"
@@jayc1139 Not only that but they have agreed to open up "civilian evacuation corridors" 3 times during negotiations and then Russian artillery have bombed them. Putin doesn't give a shit about laws.
Me and my friend were talking about this and how ‘international law’ (specifically war crimes) don’t mean anything unless they can be enforced
international law hasn't meant anything since the invasion of Iraq, forget enforcing it. Even recognising it has become a game of who has more supporters.
The coalition of the willing could invade Turkmenistan tomorrow and virtually no one would give a damn.
Generally war crime conviction on senior leaders and political leaders will happen (if they do at all) after the conflict is over. Militaries will tend to prosecute their own personnel or captured fighters who have been determined to be unlawful combatants who violated the Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC) as soon as they feel the need to prosecute is met.
honestly all laws can mean something, it is partially about enforcement but also partially about respecting said laws, perhaps you don't smoke a drug, not because you don't want to or are opposed to it, but simply because its illegal, even if the law is not well enforced it can still prevent people from doing such just by existing.
the same can be said about countries, laws only work if countries choose to abide by them or they are enforced, one, the other or both need to work for laws to function, when both are lacking then the law is essentially words on a paper.
I think the ICC could convict Putin of war crimes in absentia. He could never travel outside Russia ever again under threat of arrest.
@@bleebu5448 You are correct. It is not without precedence.
Very clear explanation- an excellent presentation and well worth the time spent viewing.
Nice tie, love it
As a Swiss, thank you for naming Switzerland AND Sweden.
I'm sure this will confuse some people, but now they can learn, that we are two different countries :)
I didn’t know people confused the two.
@@kevinbarber2795 I’m sure a lot of Americans do
@@gregbors8364 I can concur. I'm a Swiss-American. When I tell people that, people tend to mention Sweden more than Switzerland.
@@twylenb Funny, I had a Swedish girlfriend who had a Swiss father, and she said her fellow Swedes constantly reminded her about that
Stop lying, we are the same pretending to be two countries just to confuse everyone.
One of the best UA-cam channels. I've been waiting to hear Devin's discussion of the Russia-Ukraine War, and when you notice his choice of tie you realize how much thought and effort he puts into his videos.
👔
I don't often notice such things, so I'm glad you pointed it out.
I totally noticed the tie colors and paused the video to see who noticed it.
How much thought and effort he puts into virtue-signalling... Hollow gestures only merit hollow praise...
@@TimParker-Chambers You are aware that the tie is the embodiment of the suit's personality, right? The man gets to choose one thing about his outfit that isn't a standard suit, and he chose to send a message of support. Good enough for me, when compared to downbeats like you, trying to diminish goodness and empathy on sight.
Love the tie, totally appropiate for this video.
the tie is a nice touch😉
I like these kinds of videos. No constant joking, referencing, or memeing. Just information, presented competently.
Agreed. Sometimes the memes and jokes work. This ain’t one of those times.
@downtownswifty I mean compared to Legal Eagle videos generally, not the discussion of Ukraine
@downtownswifty There is tons of misinformation and people adding dance music in shorts to clips of the war. So it is happening, that doesn't get into the trolls who will even troll when there is a country being invaded. I find it hilarious we have started calling this a war and not consistently hounded on the fact that this is an invasion. The Ukraine is in a war because it has no choice, at some point, something more than economic sanctions will need to be done. I hope Russia loses the support of its people, Putin is very intelligent but he is stuck in the past. Countries operating like China and Russia are not the way if the future.
@downtownswifty What do you mean by "that"? And what do you mean by videos that "contain study/information"? Your comment is incredibly vague and makes very little sense given what I said. Also given your initial comment it makes even less sense. Perhaps you don't know know what the word "information" means but you certainly aren't using it correctly.
You mean apart from the constant snipes against Trump?
If there is a dispute regarding international law, the countries with nukes have been historically always right - nobody opposed their judgment.
Lol this is true
india and china would like to have a word with you.
Except other countries with nukes...
People only have nukes because a dude from New Zealand split the atom believing it was a step towards renewable energy, and people immediately weaponized it, pissing on his grave
@@JargonMadjin thorium nuclear energy is very, very difficult to weaponize.
So.....there's that....🤷♂️
I feel like you missed an important beat with this one- a nation's laws and ability to enforce them *ultimately* come down to the power of the nation to maintain it's own sovereignty, which in itself *ultimately* comes down to the strength of the nation's diplomatic agreements, and the strength and willingness of it's military to fight a war. When you get down to it in a very dispassionate matter-of-fact sort of way, the 'ultimate law of the land' of a nation is underpinned by it's military and police, and as such international agreements are, too. Until the United Nations has it's own standing army with support from member nations, and the ability to intervene even without the consent of a permanent member of the security council there will be no 'higher power' to enforce laws than the strength of individual or groups of nations.
Oooooooor, IF THE powers of the permanent member states are curtailed against the weight of their evidenced aggression. Your statements are so true, yet disheartening but nonetheless true. That's why i can never be a pacifist, but that doesn't one can't avoid pointless aggression as much as possible. Great suggestions, too. Also, that's why like NATO, because it essentially bars the aligned member states will go to war with each other, which helps to unite former enemies instead of prolonging that enmity. Also, also, it would mean that no one nation of the member states has to have an extremely overbloated military, which should free up money for more social spending and general economic growth.
The "higher power" is a very simple one, it's called tit for tat. The United Nations doesn't need it's own standing army to enforce what laws it lays down. If you are a country that is a member of the United Nations you are there to enforce the U.N.'s laws and you decide to give it's laws the finger, you are forfeiting any protections those laws give you, both from member nations and non-members. If you ignore or defy the laws of the U.N. and someone decides to say toss a WMD your way, the U.N. is going to just go "tough luck, you're on your own."
man this is a great video, such a lot of info packed within 20 minutes! :)
I’m in an international law class right now! This was a great general overview of use of force and humanitarian law to get me in the mood to study for my international humanitarian law exam tomorrow!!
A year later, the public needs to know: How’d you do?
I am from Russia and a lot of our people are terrified by this war. Feeling so helpless right now.
Thank you for everyone who supporting Ukraine 🇺🇦
Слава Украине ❤️
Good luck, stay safe, extra vpns and proxy networks.
You are from Russia, can i ask you a question; do you think Putin want other territories beside Ukraine(because if that's so then WW3 is inevitable)?
I hope you know that we don't fault you, but rather your leaders who have created this situation.
I hope that together, the world can work to create peace and stop wars altogether.
@@nicolovoci7265 I really don’t have good faith in Romania and Poland being so close to Ukraine if it was to fall. Past relationships with Russia just have never been good. I’m not from Russia but I know for a fact Ukraine would not be the only place they feel the need to de-naz
Good luck my friend
I've been studying international law since 2014. When talking about upholding the international law, States tend to enact "Self-help theory" in order to put the other party to the dispute comply with treaty or international regime. However that is traditional way. But it's not as easy as it seems. Particularly when discussing dispute settlement, the intention or willingness of parties to the dispute is one of significant aspects and the others are good faith, cooperation and subsequently compliance with international law principles. The other ways of upholading the international law (when one of the parties to the dispute is a member of SC) is the parties conclude a treaty with regard cooperation of settling dispute between them and the substance of that treaty could arrange the restorative procedures regarding the outcomes or aftermath of the dispute. Why? Because every member of SC has moral obligation to practice international principles such as Sovereign equality and peaceful co-existance or friendly relations. In addition, it's by their recommendation a State could become a party to the UN. Also they have moral obligation to practice human rights whilst they are the determiner to investigate whether or not the human rights are occurred. Like the UN Charter, it has shown only through intention and cooperation peace and security could be made.
The tie is a really nice touch
International law has the same energy as that meme that goes "If someone tries to mug you, just say no. Mugging is illegal."
Nice tie mate
Love the tie 🔥👌🏼
I mean, the US of all countries should know that international law only matters when someone is willing to enforce it against you.
That is of course true for all laws.
who?
@@michaelpettersson4919 obviously - the difference being that with most laws, there’s some sort of established authority and set punishments, where with international laws the only recourse is either sanctions or war, both of which have consequences for the country trying to enforce, too.
Just like any law really
Just wait for Russia to “accidentally” pass through a former eastern bloc nation that’s a NATO member.
Always remember when in college and taking International Realtions my professor said first day 'International Law isn't, it is just a gentleman's agreement'
Such a great narrative on the legality of this conflict. I'm a 3L and hope to one day have your understanding of domestic and international law! 🤓
Love the tie!
So basically you're saying that the UN (with the exception of the Security Council) has the same level of legal power as Judge Judy.
Slightly less power, as the people still seem to respect JJ.
@@ChantelCarter-cc7cu Read the disclaimer on the show.
As a subscriber who works in international law, I have been waiting a while for a video on it!
How's the environment at your "international law" office
The kind of environment that doesn’t allow me to talk about it.
I love the not in the nose reference in the tie
12:00 There's another point here, a country is obliged to abstain on any dispute they're a party to, so in principle Russia's veto should have been counted as an abstention, though in practice that rule is never enforced.
Even if the Russians abstained, I have a feeling the Chinese would’ve vetoed it instead.
If it was enforced, how often would the US get to vote?
Or even attend.
Words can't explain how well-written, presented, and laid out video this is. Pure masterclass in accessibility and professionalism.
Very yes! 🔥
Professianilsm? This guy know anything about what's really going there and reasons of invasion.
Great one!
Thanks for explaining this, it’s really interesting! And important. Kudos from the land down under, mate!
The problem with Russia assuming it’s role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council as a successor of the Soviet Union is that it was never voted on by the UN.
Former Soviet nations that had declared independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union had to reapply to UN under their new government as a “new” country.
Russia was just given their spot without having to reapply as other nations were required to do. That’s the primary point of contention as to why Russia should be expelled from both the Security Council and the UN itself.
Did the UN general assembly ever vote on the structure of the security council?
But the UN needs all nuclear powers on side as it serves as an outlet for diplomacy
As mentioned in the video...
Russia was victor in the world war 2. france was just invited
I feel like there's some sort of limitation to this line of argument. It's been almost 30 years since the fall of the USSR and they've been recognized as a member of the UN implicitly. It seems fishy and against the UN spirit to bring up a procedural hiccup now that it's convenient.
"As it turns out, it's really hard to speak a dead language." As a student of linguistics and history, this made me choke on, and spit out, my tea. God damn that was funny 🤣.
The trouble with attempting to learning Latin is the inability to find a living Roman.
@@gorillaau The best we have are grammar nazis complaining. E.g. some guy wrote that the youth needs to stop with their soft C sounds and start using proper hard Cs, which got read as hard C being a K sound and a soft C being an S sound.
Trust old people to complain about the younger generation.
This does not take dialects into account, however.
@@JaharNarishma I am not surprised.
Actually one of the problems with speaking this particular "dead" language is that it is not really dead. It changed over time as it developed, and was pronounced differently in different parts of the Roman Empire, and in different parts of the post-Roman world.
Nowadays we have "Church Latin", "Scientific Latin", "Legal Latin", "Classical Latin", and many others with their own set of regional variations.
@@JaharNarishma There are also poems and such that clue scholars in on rhymes. The recreations of Shakespeare’s plays point out there were some pretty raunchy double entendres that get lost in modern performances.
This is the most serious video I ever seen since the video from 1/6/21 video
For a war to be "illegal" means that there is a specific court that BOTH countries *fully recognize and obey* and there is some law that court has that was broken in that wars declaration.
As soon as either country chooses not to recognize any court, its rulings and directives, or to simply disagree with a ruling the illegal term simply no longer applies.
Exactly. And since Russia treats the U.N. like a joke and blocks all attempts at any real world progress anyway, they should be kicked out of the U.N. ASAP. Since Russia is not technically a member of NATO, this shouldn't be a problem.
@@michaelj.beglinjr.2804 You could say much the same about China, but they will will have each others backs if for no other reason than to keep the US, EU and other democratic powers from having any real control. This is a part of why the UN is so ineffectual at dealing with any of the things its supposed to be able to do as a "world government".
I don't see what difference it makes whether it's 'legal' or not - people are still going to get killed either way. Indeed, some people probably think all wars should be illegal!
Thank you for this video! I was hearing “illegal war” a lot and was wondering “aren’t all wars illegal?” And was hoping you would explain it! Thank you!
Me too. Like, war is a pretty much lawless/might-makes-right affair where breaking laws doesn't cause an automatic defeat of one side or something.
Kind of like an “illegal streetfight” or “illegal theft” or “illegal murder”.
He does explain it. Peacekeeping mission by the UN are legal. So is a country defending itself against an invasion. And other countries helping the country defending itself if it asked them to.
There is this concept of a "jus ad bellum" or "right to war," a set of criteria to determine whether a war is just. One of those is the "Responsibility to Protect," which is a global commitment endorsed by every member of the UN to prevent or stop things like genocide and crimes against humanity. This is basically what Russia used to justify the invasion, Putin claimed a genocide was taking place in Eastern Ukraine, alleging neo-nazis were killing ethnic Russians. While there has certainly been a conflict going on there for years, casualties are pretty even, making the justification hard to believe. Traditionally, victims of a genocide are relatively unarmed and powerless, which is not the case here, it's kinda like calling the American Civil War a genocide of Southerners.
So if the justification is baseless, then that would mean the war is illegal, just like people called the Iraq War illegal because the Bush administration alleged Saddam Hussein owned weapons of mass destruction, despite the complete lack of evidence for such claims.
@@Lobsterwithinternet there are legal versions of that. Except its called self defence
I mean, even if it is illegal… is it really going to stop him? If a law is impossible to enforce, is it even a law?
edit: a lot of you guys are missing the point
First of all, prevention and prosecution count as enforcement, so examples of mass shootings and using force to break a law in the moment dont count
Second, just because the US does something bad too doesnt excuse Russia’s actions
I would say if a law can’t be enforced or if there isn’t a desire to enforce it all it it is a joke. In this case it’s a not funny joke.
And now there is word that a hospital has been deliberately attacked and destroyed. ( unconfirmed)
The US specifically should know this, given their stance on prosecuting war crimes/possibly invading The Hague to prevent their citizens being tried there.
A law that can't be enforced is basically just a suggestion lmao
I remember my local metro train had a "honor system" for fares and tickets, assuming you'd just follow the law.
Fare gates went up real quick cause it turns out the honor system doesn't work.
Mass shootings is also pretty illegal , I don’t think we should remove laws against it just because we can’t stop them when they happen.
He DID stop with Crimea last time after the ICC ruled that what he was doing was illegal.
We love the blue and yellow tie!
Great video, it was interesting and very well versed on the subject without becoming a panflet for one site or the other, thanks a lot sir
Interesting. Good that you’re out there explaining how the law works in times like this.
Don't think laws are going to stop this, kinda obvious when it comes to warfare that short of diplomatic approaches the only way your going to stop it is thru force. Laws only work on people who care to follow them
@@Soldat177 part of the explanation in the video is talking about the enforcement. As you said, laws are worth less without enforcement. Enforcement is one of the 3 parts of laws. It is not separate from the law.
I read the original comment as "glad to become informed of how the international legal system works and now I have a better understanding of why the world is doing what it does against Russia".
Your reply got read as "you used this word in your comment and I will read it as you missing a big part of everything, consequently seeing you as ignorant".
Sorry, but I read malice and/or superiority complex from your response.
It is very hard to read tone, especially when many have English as a second language and words have several meanings.
I apologise for not trying to see the kindness in your response!
Thank you for yet another clear explanation. I always turn to your channel whenever I need clarity on complicated legal issues.
Lawyers are trained to give a clear demonstration of there argument otherwise noone will agree with them
Nice tie you got going on!
A pretty good summary. I would add that although you said there is no "higher law" in international law there is the idea of "jus cogens" peremptory norms of international law that are *not* optional or dependent on state consent and cannot be derogated by treaty. Aggression is one of them.
Yes, but when a treaty, for instance, de facto derogates a ius cogens norm, there's really nothing anyone can do.
8:57 I’m an idiot. When you said “mining of the Corfu channel and subsequent damage to British vessels” the first thing I pictured was some Albanians digging a huge hole then some ships sailing into it. 😐 When I realized my mistake, I felt… ashamed.
I’m glad I am not the only one who’s brain went that direction. I was confused about how the boats could have gotten damaged by mining until he worded it that they placed mines in the river...
@@jennagrace1534 😂🤣 I thought I was the only one too.
Interesting and many excellent points.
Excellent crash course in international law and how it applies to the current conflict!
Two details not covered in the video:
1. Some treaties do contain clauses for who judge violation of the treaty. But this is not always the case and it varies wildly. Also some treaties do include clauses for abandoning the treaty itself.
2. The legal argument that Russia is not part of the UN security council is a risky one. If Russia didn't inherited the USSR seat in the council, how did it inherited membership in the UN? And if it didn't inherited those then the security council has no autority on a country that is not a UN member. The veto power of the permanent members is the balance to the council binding power. Removing one will hurt the other.
Arguably, the veto power of the Security Council's Permanent Members is nothing more than recognising that neither Stalin nor the US Senate was ever going to agree to any international organsation that had more power than they did. (I'm not trying to equate Stalin and US Senators. Just noting that in 1946, neither of those parties was willing to accept any limit on their nations' ability to act however they chose.)
I do agree that if Russia didn't inherit the USSR's Council seat, it also didn't inherit the USSR's membership. On the other hand, North Korea wasn't part of the UN in 1950 and that didn't prevent the UN from engaging in military operations against it.
But let's be honest; if NATO wanted to engage in military action against Russia in 2022, they very much could. Basically, any country that COULD fight Russia doesn't need the UN's approval to do so.
Communist China "inherited" both the UN membership and the permanent seat on the SC from Nationalist China after they won their Civil War (and after some additional politics). Every country on the SC has had some form of "change of government" without losing their seat. Mostly this involves an election of a new head of state or head of government rather than a full blown revolution.
As for #2, the USSR had 3 seats on the UN, one for Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria, but only one on the Security council as the USSR.
It could be argued that the USSR split into the three nations who each hold claim to their respective seats and to the security council seat(which is backed up by the fact that Putin wants to reform the USSR, as per a essay he wrote, and believes that Ukraine must be assimilated in order to do so). Russia being the largest was given the seat out of hand, but has since rejected their duty to follow the Security council's guidelines as a member of it's permanent seat by violating them.
As both of the other two thirds of the USSR still exist and are part of the UN, should one of them not be given the USSR's seat after Russia abandoned the responsibility they claimed?
While nations are not strictly like people, political inheritance is historically a thing with monarchy. This situation can be viewed as a King dying and leaving behind 3 sons, without indication by word or law as to who should succeed him. Naturally, the throne(which is a seat) was given to the "eldest"(Russia, who is the biggest), while the two "younger"(aka smaller) sons only got territory and a seat at the discussion table.
So now that the holder of the throne is ignoring the duties they agreed to when claiming it, and trying to take out another inheretor, the other two heirs could press their claim to it.
I would also like to point out that as the permanent seats cannot be removed or _transfered to another country_, the seat cannot belong to Russia as it was given to the USSR(which Russia is not). Therefore Russia can be removed as custodian of the USSR's seat, as long as it is given to another country that was created from the USSR.
And as someone pointed out, China's seat also was inherited after their civil war. However, in that case, there was only one political entity to inherit the seat, so no real room to argue against their inheriting it.
@N Fels I didn't mean to imply that the transfer of the Chinese seats at both the UN and SC happened automatically, but that at some point in time the de facto situation on the ground was recognized by the international community and changed the representation in the UN.
I don't have any firm opinions on whether or how the change in status of China's representation in the UN should be applied to the current USSR vs. Russia situation.
Why wouldn’t Ukraine and Belarus and the Baltic States, and Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, etc. also inherit Permanent Member status? Did Ukraine lose Permanent Membership by voluntarily giving up their nukes?
Superb to hear someone with an actual legal background explain the situation in a clear fashion.
I also love myse some "international law"
This is a biased person lmao
@@Sal3600 biased to which side?
@@Sal3600 +100 Rubles have been added to your account
and if that legal background giving person is blind to obvious fact like intl law was killed by US some time ago, is that backhround relevant?
Good video, mate
I have an MUN tomorrow and this helped alot. thanks
I am not a law student or a lawyer but I love watching your 15+ mins videos on all subjects. You should have another channel explaining introduction to law or something for your viewers. Good job.
Long time Ukrainian subscriber, thank you very much for supporting us mr LegalEagle!
love your tie
Nice tie.
I’m so glad you made this video! It’s refreshing to have someone ACTUALLY knowledgeable on this subject, give an unbiased explanation of what the hell is going on. Please, for the love of all that is holy, keep bringing us content like this. The vast majority of people really have nothing to go on but the various slanted bits and pieces of what is dribbled to us through our media outlets. Please keep it up. Could you explain more about how sanctions work, what Putin can do in retaliation, and where the line is that if crossed would cause the western world to directly intervene.
I don't have good answers to most of that but I do know the last one. The red line to cross is any other border in Europe, especially the Western one of Ukraine. Or tactical nukes. If he uses them pre-emptively like a true madman then there's no point in being afraid that he'll use them to retaliate against NATO forces.
I didn’t go to law school but I took undergrad international law classes in the universities that I attended. I had to create a presentation on the codification of convention to procedures in the ICC. One of the hardest readings I had to do.
i was waiting for this one
Thanks!
It is really interesting seeing international law from other countries' perspectives.
I'm from Mexico, where on 2011 the international treaties were put on the same level as the constitution
We have the same undesrtanding here in Brazil. The congress have to vote, using the same rules of the constitutional amendement rite, so the treaty integrate our body of laws on the same hyerarchy as our constitution.
Indeed it's a noble idea, but there's also the flaw that this constitutional authority only applies to treaties your country recognizes, and ones which apply to the situation at hand.
For example; A trade agreement between Turkey and Ireland means nothing to Mexico. It doesn't even mention Mexico. Also, most treaties about "rules of war" and "war crimes" are meaningless today. They assume a formally declared state of war, which almost never happens anymore since we discovered "police action" and other euphemisms.
You mean Mexico, where the citizens and govt do not recognize the border with the usa and mexicans keep piuring in illegally
In the USA, treaties ratified by the US Senate are also “the Supreme Law of the Land”, equal to the Constitution. This has been the case back when the Constitution came into force, back in 1787 or so.
This is why the US President has signed a number of never-ratified treaties, because the Senate did not want to accept vague promises that the President was fooled into accepting, at least as the other side (not always the other party) was concerned.
In most countries is this way, and when adjudicating International disputes internal law is mostly left undiscussed
Nice tie
Hey LegalEagle!
The idea of international law is still really new. As a result these ‘laws’ are really just guidelines for common discourse.also, anyone who thinks the UN is a world government isn’t someone to take seriously…
The UN serves a lot of purposes, actually taking actions is not one of them
@@pieppy6058 It literally can't. Sure, the idea of an all-encompassing institute to facilitate diplomacy among the most powerful nations is a noble one, but since, in the name of "equality" all of these countries have veto rights, the UN is simply incapable of doing anything about the most powerful nations, since if, say, China is breaking the rules, China can just veto discussing it and that's the end of it.
@@Warfoki The ability to self veto is hopefully severely limited in the future.
@@JaharNarishma And how would that happen? Any recommendation to change the veto system will be, you guessed it, veto'd. :P
@@Warfoki I hope. Hope doesn't need a plan. Nor does it need reason or feasibility.
It would be interesting to look at the legalities of insurance including damages caused by cyberattacks and whether cyber attacks also constitute a "act of war" which commonly voids the claim
It is an frightening consideration. Cyber attacks do have the potential to wreak havoc with utilities which could lead to damage to personal property and businesses as well as kill people (extended power outages leaving people unable to escape the heat or cold, for example). I suspect if something large scale did happen, insurance companies would refuse to pay up unless forced to by law. For instance, one thing that already happens is when a disaster is big enough that FEMA steps in, many people find their insurance refuses to pay up and instead tells them to call FEMA. That has left quite a few in a situation where they thought they were protected (why else pay insurance for all those years?) only to lose everything and get zero help from insurance and minimal help, if any, from the government.
I thought about that back in September 2001. If the terrible events of 9/11 were part of the "war against terrorism" would the insurance companies use that as a reason to not pay any claims?
I think what happened was that legaly "war against terrorism" was treated as a marketing or propaganda term, not as a legal description of the acts.
But since the insurance text usually exempts from payments acts of war "both declared and undeclared" the line between what is or is not considered an "act of war" for insurance purposes is very fuzzy
The Pentagon once met to discuss this very thing. The problem with cyber attack is that cyber attackers can spoof their location, or hack into the location and pivot attacks through them. So the Pentagon almost puts it in the category of spying, we know they hack, we can catch their operatives or pinpoint their locations, we attack them back with our own operatives but we consider it business as usual.
If state hackers were to cause major damage in a hacking attempt they would likely consider it an act of war, but it would have to be something like launching multiple nukes or destroying the entire US power grid.
Specific overrules general. So if both "this policy is void for acts of war" and "this policy is valid for cyberattacks" apply, it means that the policy is valid for cyberattacks even if they are also acts of war.
The international courts will provide a judgement on this when the time comes which will becone law. No point in wondering about it before then.
Love the tie
This video should really be 3seconds long with the phrase: "Might means Right"
The US war against Iraq was declared illegal by the UN, and the US pretty much paid no mind to this!
Wait it was declared illegal and the US still did it and faced little consequence?
@@rafaeltiburcio6624 Yes, of course. Trump even pardoned war criminals
@@rafaeltiburcio6624 yep
international law didn't do anything about the American bombing of Somalia, or the man-made famine in Yemen caused by American sanctions, or the famine in Afghanistan caused by the 20 year war America waged on it. all of this is happening at the same time as the Russian invasion, and because they're war crimes done by America, no one seems to care.
@@sandrasim46 As the original comment says "might makes right". When you have the capacity to literally end life on earth as we know it other countries opinions don't really matter all that much.
Great video, as a currently studying lawyer in the making i loved the fast pace as opposed to usual international law lectures. Though i must point out that you failed to mention "jus cogens" norms as higher in the hierarchy of international law norms, which are norms "from which no derrogation is permitted" such as torture and use of agression and so on. Otherwise great video!
What i consider incompetent Gunpowder-Nations:
USA, China, Russia, North-Korea and now, just new to the Friends-Group, Afghanistan.
Those are Gunpowder-Barrels that need to be stopped at all Price.
So: Lets do nothing.
love the tie
I see that tie @LegalEagle