Weaknesses of international law - An animated explainer

International law: it's great at some things,

but not so good at others.

It often comes down to two questions:

do you agree to accept these laws?

And what happens when you don't?

After all, law is really just...

well, law.

It's something written down –

sometimes not even written down.

It's up to people to make it happen:

to enforce or implement it.

When everything works well and fairly,

we call this justice.

Justice is never easy,

but it's more straightforward inside individual countries.

On the world stage, it's very hard.

Remember, there's no single central authority.

There are some international institutions,

but they can have limited impact.

For instance, the International Criminal Court

deals with international crimes, such as genocide.

It has a staff of around 900.

Since its founding in 2002,

how many convictions has it made?

Only ten.

And not all countries have agreed to do what it says.

Of course, it's only one example.

And while some say it's a deterrent –

in other words, it stops people

from committing terrible crimes in the first place –

others have called it a 'giant without arms or legs',

because despite its size, it can't investigate crimes by itself.

It needs the help of individual countries.

So, all states have to agree to

and accept international law

and then act together to make things happen...

...and we all know how hard that can be.

But when we do, we all have a better chance of justice.