Does the Founding of the UN Represented a Radical Departure from System of International Law prior to 1945 - Coursework Example

Introduction United Nations emerged as the most important organization in the world with a very diverse man Its formation was a direct result of the rising international conflicts between the various powers of the world and in order to stabilize the world order. However, with the emergence of global institutions like UN, the overall concept of International Law has almost vanished and few States seems to have been imposing their will under the umbrella of UN. (Sands,2005). With the changes that took place over the period of last sixty years or so wherein World has seen emergence of new world powers who considered international law as rather a hindrance in achieving their targets. The rise of institutions such as United Nations therefore allowed States like US to get access to the internal borders of the countries despite the fact that UN was mandated to oversee the external conflicts between nations. Though UN has also the mandate as a law enforcing body also however, over the period of time, its ability to enforce the international laws has been vanishing due to the inherent power that States like US derive from utilizing the powers of UN. The conflict in Iraq is a very vivid example of how UN and international laws were overruled by the US to achieve its strategic objectives. It is therefore argued that the formation of UN is a radical rupture from the system of international law or international society that existed before 1945. This paper will therefore attempt to discuss above argument in the light of international law. The Nature of International Law “In simple terms, international law comprises a system of rules and principles that govern the international relations between sovereign states and other institutional subjects of International law”(Dixon,2004). The above definition of international indicates that the international law works as a system wherein the relationships between the States as well as institutions are governed. According to Dixon, international law however, is also concerned about the rights of the individuals however; typically international laws are created by the States for their own purpose or for the organizations to which they serve as members. It is also because of this reason that the overall breadth and diversity of international laws is much greater than the domestic laws and regulations. International laws govern the different areas including shipping, postal services, human rights protection etc. which also mean that the overall governing of relations between the States is regulated through mutually agreed rules and regulations.(Bull,1995). It is also important to understand that the international law is uniquely de-centralized in nature as the principles of necessity and mutual consent is often used in order to originate the international laws between two countries. (Morgenthau, & Thompson, 1985). Thus under the mutual consent of the two States or nations, treaties are formulated in order to frame the international laws between the two nations. What is also significant to understand that the overall nature and characteristics of international law is does not necessarily means it is limited to only two States or nations. Formation of United Nations Formation of United Nations was one of the most significant steps taken by the international community to negotiate with international conflict. The problem of attaining the world peace and minimize the conflict between the nation was what United States mandated with after the Second World War. The League of Nations, the predecessor of UN failed to avoid one of the deadliest War fought between the Regional powers of the world because it was not considered as truly a global institution. League was mostly focused on Europe whereas the creation of UN provided the opportunity to international community to develop a comprehensive international institution which can cater to the various needs of the States and can effectively negotiate peace deals between States. It is critical to understand that the negotiations and settlements by the UN are not coercively binding on the member States as the membership is mostly based on the voluntary will of the member States. The overall focus of UN therefore is to create mutual understanding and consent between the States in case of conflict between the two. (Ramesh,2006). However, over the period of time, the breadth of UN’s activities became diverse in nature and along with NATO; UN used the coercive powers to bring in the peace. What is also significant to understand that under the Banner of UN, countries such as UK and US also advanced their own interests and attempted to circumvent the role of UN.(Smit,2005). International Law and United Nations One of the implicit assumptions in international law is the assumption that no State shall be submitted to coercive influence against its will if it does not will to settle a dispute with another nation. This implicit assumption therefore requires that the international law can only be effectively if and only if there is an express will by the States to follow a certain path to negotiation and settlement. What is however, critical to note that the with the emergence of the institutions such as UN, this implicit assumption is probably dwindling because States are often forced against their Will to arrive at different settlements. One important aspect also is the right of self defence wherein international law recognizes the efforts of individual nation to take coercive measures and resort to force. What however, one observes in case of UN is the fact that many States which typically respond in their self defence are often internationally isolated if their conflict is against the major powers of the world. For example, there has been an armed struggle in Indian held Kashmir for last many years however, despite UN’s own resolutions for the resolving the dispute according to the Will of the local people, this issue has not been settled yet. This is mostly due to the fact that India held a significantly strategic position for US interests and peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue may hinder the bilateral relationships between India and United States of America. Role of Powerful States In order to comprehensively discuss whether the creation of UN was a radical rupture from the Past, it is important that we must first understand the relative role of various international powers in dominating the will of the UN and force it to take decisions which are of very little legal and moral support. It is largely believed that before the end of Cold War it was technically impossible for the UN to impose its decisions despite the fact that the Security Council has the power to use either armed force or impose trade restrictions. One argument that is often put forward is the argument that permanent members of the Security Council had the veto powers and any negative vote can override a resolution.(Thakur,2006). However, after the emergence of US as the sole super power of the world, this equation has changed and Security Council has effectively failed to restrict US from attacking Afghanistan or Iraq or even the recent invasion of Lebanon by Israel. Such inability of UN in not restricting powerful States from taking extreme steps unilaterally therefore clearly reflects as to how UN has effectively diluted the role of international law and principles and replaced it with systematic use of coercive powers to protect the interests of few powerful States. Under International Law, institutions like International court of Justice provided a valid alternative for resolving the disputes between the nations and its verdicts and decisions were binding on the parties. As such there was a comprehensive system which ensured that the rights and obligations of each State and member are protected under the International Law. However, with the creation of UN, the role of such institutions became negligible and international disputes and conflicts are now settled according to the will of the super powers of the world. Conclusion International law provides a comprehensive system and framework to govern the international relationships between the nations. This set of rules and procedures allowed States to settle their conflicts according to pre-agreed terms and conditions however, despite this, world witnessed two great World Wars due to conflicts between different regional powers of the world. As a result of these conflicts, first League of Nations was created and was replaced by United Nations after the Second World War. The creation of UN was significant step towards achieving the peace and harmony between the States however, after the end of Cold War, this not been the case. Recent events effectively indicates that the UN has failed to achieve permanent peace in the world and only allowed great powers to utilize it for achieving their own objectives regardless of the international rules and regulations that govern the affairs between two States. The recent invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan is a clear example of how the international laws and regulations were overturned without considering the aspirations and interests of other States also. It can therefore comprehensively be concluded that the formation of UN was a radical departure from the system of international law and/or international society prior to 1945? References 1. Bull, H 1995, ‘International law and international order’, The anarchical society: a study of order in world politics, 2nd edn, Macmillan, Basingstoke, ch. 6, pp. 122–55. 2. Dixon, M 2004, ‘The nature of international law and the international system’, Textbook on international law, Oxford University Press, ch. 1, pp. 1–20 3. Morgenthau, HJ & Thompson, KW 1985, ‘The main problems of international law’, Politics among nations: the struggle for power and peace, 6th edn, McGraw Hill, N.Y., pp. 291–327. 4. Ramesh Thakur, The United Nations, Peace and Security, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006, Introduction, pp. 1-24. 5. Reus-Smit, C 2004, ‘The politics of international law’, in C Reus-Smit (ed.), The politics of international law, Cambridge University Press, pp. 14–44 6. Reus-Smit, C 2005, ‘International law’, in J Baylis & S Smith (eds), The globalization of world politics: an introduction to international relations, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, pp. 278–94. 7. Sands, P 2005, ‘International law: a short and recent history’, Lawless world: America and the making and breaking of global rules, Allen Lane, London, ch. 1, pp. 1–22 Read More