ABSTRACT
Faith in international law was vindicated by events of the 1990s. The Cold War came to an end, and, for a brief moment, the Russian Federation and the West collaborated in the maintenance of international peace. Apartheid was abolished in South Africa and Namibia. Accountability for international crimes received new attention and the International Criminal Court was established. The new millennium saw the end of this idealism, beginning with the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and culminating in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The present failure of international law is not to be attributed to poor methods of enforcement. Rather it is because the West has increasingly abandoned its faith in international law and instead turned to a “rules-based international order”. The meaning of this concept is uncertain. It seems to reflect an interpretation of international law reflecting the national interest of States belonging to the Western Alliance, particularly the United States. Violations of international law, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, should be judged by international law and the Charter of the United Nations rather than by an amorphous “rules-based international order” that threatens to replace international law.
