Al Jazeera – 17-9-2024

From the Gaza war to Ukraine – the role of international law has been under intense scrutiny recently. What exactly is international law? How does it work? And what’s the point of it, if so often it doesn’t seem to lead to the accountability and justice that many people want? Sandra Gathmann takes #AJStartHere to The Hague – the home of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC) – to explain.

Chapters:

00:56 – What is international law?

02:18 – Why international law is so complicated

03:49 – How the International Court of Justice (ICJ) works

06:22 – Why is it so hard to enforce international law?

07:01 – Why so much of international law comes down to politics

10:24 – How the International Criminal Court (ICC) works

11:34 – Criticisms of the ICC

12:34 – The significance of ICC’s arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin

13:02 – How the ICC’s jurisdiction works

14:29 – Why international law often takes time

This episode features:

• Phoebe Okowa – Professor of Public International Law, Queen Mary University of London , UN International Law Commission Member
• Devika Hovell Associate – Professor of Public International Law, London School of Economics Agnès Callamard Secretary General, Amnesty International
• Molly Quell – Senior Legal Correspondent, Courthouse News Service, The Hague Judge
• Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf – Member of the International Court of Justice
• Fadi El Abdallah – ICC Spokesperson