Can International Law Be Enforced

International law has courts but few sheriffs. The International Court of Justice binds only states that accept its jurisdiction, the International Criminal Court needs a member state or Security Council referral, and defendants tend to reach The Hague after they lose power at home.

Enforcement rests on reciprocity, reputation, sanctions, and rare collective force, tools that bite weak states hardest. Yet the system is far from decoration: treaties schedule the flights overhead, allocate the radio spectrum, protect diplomats, and settle nearly every ocean boundary without incident.

Investment arbitration moves billions a year. The honest summary is that international law works daily in the quiet middle of life and strains at the violent edges..