Weaknesses of international law - An animated explainer

33,688 views ・ 2021-12-24

BBC Learning English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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International law: it's great at some things,
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but not so good at others.
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It often comes down to two questions:
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do you agree to accept these laws?
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And what happens when you don't?
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After all, law is really just...
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well, law.
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It's something written down –
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sometimes not even written down.
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It's up to people to make it happen:
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to enforce or implement it.
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When everything works well and fairly,
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we call this justice.
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Justice is never easy,
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but it's more straightforward inside individual countries.
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On the world stage, it's very hard.
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Remember, there's no single central authority.
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There are some international institutions,
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but they can have limited impact.
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For instance, the International Criminal Court
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deals with international crimes, such as genocide.
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It has a staff of around 900.
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Since its founding in 2002,
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how many convictions has it made?
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Only ten.
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And not all countries have agreed to do what it says.
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Of course, it's only one example.
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And while some say it's a deterrent –
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in other words, it stops people
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from committing terrible crimes in the first place –
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others have called it a 'giant without arms or legs',
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because despite its size, it can't investigate crimes by itself.
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It needs the help of individual countries.
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So, all states have to agree to
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and accept international law
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and then act together to make things happen...
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...and we all know how hard that can be.
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But when we do, we all have a better chance of justice.
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