International | International law and disorder

The world’s rules-based order is cracking

Human-rights lawyers are trying to save laws meant to tame violent rulers

An illustration of a knife in a book of international law. — Illustration: Álvaro Bernis

May 9th 2024|Washington, DC

RARELY HAVE international courts been busier. In The Hague, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is considering war-crimes prosecutions against Israeli leaders, including Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, over the conflict in Gaza. It has already issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, for war crimes in Ukraine. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also in The Hague, is weighing genocide charges against Israel. In Strasbourg the European Court of Human Rights will hear a request in June for Russia to pay compensation to Ukraine.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The world’s rules-based order is cracking”