Why do we need international law? An animated explainer

Imagine… an ocean… with three different islands. Each island does things its own way inside its own  

territory. Each has its own laws. Each of  the islands is what we call ‘sovereign’.

So what if one island wants to… trade  with another? Or send a diplomat? Or fish  

in the sea near another? Whose law do they use?

Well, this is where international law comes in.

We can think of it as a set of  bridges connecting the islands.

They provide a framework  that everyone has agreed to.  

So things can happen smoothly. Most of the time. 

And there’s another thing. Some  

problems aren’t just between individual  islands – they affect all of them.

International law comes in here too – whether it’s  drafting an agreement on human rights together.

Or agreeing a plan to fight climate change.