What's the Point of International Law...?

halfcenturyup said:
I suppose the question is why that is so? The guy at least made an effort to put his view across .....
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It is so because people want to believe that the world is run according to a set of rules and not just a messy rough and tumble.
 
KS55 said:
It is so because people want to believe that the world is run according to a set of rules and not just a messy rough and tumble.
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Fair enough. You aren't saying there shouldn't be an effective international law framework, just that there isn't one?
 
Bigga said:
How do you gather the complete information without listening to it all? Maybe your view would be underlined or maybe it would round out?

It's only a short piece, so you defeat the object by quitting it.
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The amount of loaded language had already skewed the opportunity for it to be an insightful documentary piece into becoming just another opinion piece. It was already clear what the opinion was.

While I’m sure we would all like to live under an international rule of law, it’s often the who, what and why that causes issues, especially when they interfere with sovereignty and international alliances.

Situational ethics are an ongoing area of discussion in all walks of life, and I’m not sure the expansion from the individual to a nation state changes it that much.

We all want to operate under a codified set of norms, but life (and death) are just not that simple. Additionally, free peoples don’t like others telling them what their norms should be, because they usually can not be codified in a way that covers every eventuality or in away that everyone agrees with. Life is messy.
 
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ChicagoBlue said:
The amount of loaded language had already skewed the opportunity for it to be an insightful documentary piece into becoming just another opinion piece. It was already clear what the opinion was.

While I’m sure we would all like to live under an international rule of law, it’s often the who, what and why that causes issues, especially when they interfere with sovereignty and international alliances.

Situational ethics are an ongoing area of discussion in all walks of life, and I’m not sure the expansion from the individual to a nation state changes it that much.

We all want to operate under a codified set of norms, but life (and death) are just not that simple. Additionally, free peoples don’t like others telling them what their norms should be, because they usually can not be codified in a way that covers every eventuality or in away that everyone agrees with. Life is messy.
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Thanks for the reply, but I think you miss the point, partially because you perceived "loaded language". What medium doesn't skew language through their own prism? One has to bypass that in order to collect a rounded view if you take in others for balance.

The point being if one is going make a law that is supposed to govern every nation that is democratic, why does it bend or get ignored by those that are the supposed architect of [some] of the said laws as it sits on an agreed table of 'leading nations'?

If that's the case... what's the point in it...?
 
Bigga said:
Thanks for the reply, but I think you miss the point, partially because you perceived "loaded language". What medium doesn't skew language through their own prism? One has to bypass that in order to collect a rounded view if you take in others for balance.

The point being if one is going make a law that is supposed to govern every nation that is democratic, why does it bend or get ignored by those that are the supposed architect of [some] of the said laws as it sits on an agreed table of 'leading nations'?

If that's the case... what's the point in it...?
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I’m not claiming there is a point.

I didn’t watch more than a few minutes because the language made it clear of the videos bias…which I already understand.

As for whether the liberal democracies of the world have the right, or responsibility, to create a Star Chamber is open to discussion.

Whether a country should be required to abide by those laws is a point of discussion. The world is not nearly as black and white as we would all hope.

I don’t have any more to add.

Take care.
 
International law goes back a long way. Certainly, in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the USA successfully 'sued' the UK for certain help given to the CSA which had damaged US commerce. They received damages.

Then we have the Geneva Convention which regulates the conduct of war.

In 1945 we had the Nuremberg Trials, where an 'International Court' aggregated to itself the right to string up various Nazis. Exactly on what legal basis I am unsure.

Subsequently, we have several UN treaties that (at least in theory) impose duties on nation-states. The Refugee Convention is a salient example.

While the system is imperfect, what is the alternative? Anarchy? I think we should at least have a principle that nation-states are answerable for their actions and that redress is available.
 
BrianW said:
International law goes back a long way. Certainly, in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the USA successfully 'sued' the UK for certain help given to the CSA which had damaged US commerce. They received damages.

Then we have the Geneva Convention which regulates the conduct of war.

In 1945 we had the Nuremberg Trials, where an 'International Court' aggregated to itself the right to string up various Nazis. Exactly on what legal basis I am unsure.

Subsequently, we have several UN treaties that (at least in theory) impose duties on nation-states. The Refugee Convention is a salient example.

While the system is imperfect, what is the alternative? Anarchy? I think we should at least have a principle that nation-states are answerable for their actions and that redress is available.
Click to expand...

In theory...
 
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