Can International Law Stop Putin's War on Ukraine?

A war of aggressor is clearly illegal under international law, isn't it?

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Sorry, occupational hazard: This is not legal advice, nor can I give you legal advice. I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. Sorry! Everything here is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed to form an attorney-client relationship. Also, some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But if you click, it really helps me make more of these videos! All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
1:40 - Chapter 1 - Background to conflict
4:20 - Chapter 2 - International law explained
6:50 - Chapter 3 - Treaties
8:25 - Chapter 4 - General principles of civilized nations
9:15 - Chapter 5 - Other sources of law
9:35 - Chapter 6 - What about the UN ?
10:20 - Chapter 7 - What about the security council ?
12:35 - Chapter 8 - Use of force under international law
13:00 - Chapter 9 - Exceptions
14:30 - Chapter 10 - Self defence
15:35 - Chapter 11 - Is the war in Ukraine illegal under international war ?

Special thanks:
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images
Music provided by Epidemic Sound

[oMo]

"International Law is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules.” – Captain Barbossa

[Shadowquacker]

It’s not just international law: all laws are only worth what people or groups with power are prepared to spend on enforcing them.

[TipOfTheSauce]

Being robbed?
Just say: “No”
A thief cannot legally take your possessions without your consent

[justwonder]

Here in Ukraine the UN's deep concern had become a running joke, but alas, we don't have any other international law system. Thanks for taking time to explain at least a part of the whole ordeal.

[Metamarble]

From my time taking international law courses in law school I learned that international law is primarily a set of fluid guidelines that are only meaningful when backed by real military and economic power. The few times when international law tried to break free from this countries just ignored it.

[hamhouke]

The coherent theme of most legal analysis content I watch to listen to seems to be, "If you did it, straight to jail. But when someone powerful does it, probably not."

[ignitionfrn]

1:40 - Chapter 1 - Background to conflict
4:20 - Chapter 2 - International law explained
6:50 - Chapter 3 - Treaties
8:25 - Chapter 4 - General principles of civilized nations
9:15 - Chapter 5 - Other sources of law
9:35 - Chapter 6 - What about the UN ?
10:20 - Chapter 7 - What about the security council ?
12:35 - Chapter 8 - Use of force under international law
13:00 - Chapter 9 - Exceptions
14:30 - Chapter 10 - Self defence
15:35 - Chapter 11 - Is the war in Ukraine illegal under international war ?
18:25 - End roll ads

[mrpulcio]

"It's really hard to speak a dead language"

Me who had to endure 5 years of Latin classes back in high school in Italy: *I feel you*.

[drpollo]

Having somebody who actually knows what they're talking explain situations and laws in a way that is easy to understand and often entertaining is a recouce I'm very glad we have. Jeep up the good work man.

[denidale]

International law is more down the line of "If I don't do it, then I can expect you not to do it either". So more like a code of conduct or honor, which serves as common ground the interact with other countries without needing to fear extremely crazy things happenening

[fifty]

Appreciating this deep dive focus on the question, "What is International Law?" And coming to the grim result that the answer is, "Only as powerful as its enforcement."

[Andreas-ovfv]

The EU is an interesting experiment in actual, manifest international law, where 27 countries suborn parts of their national self-rule to a extranational organization. Especially the EEA members (Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein) are interesting because they have a rubber-stamp agreement where they approve every legislation coming in from the EU, without actually being members with voting rights.

I don't know if the African Union is built on the same model, but it is an interesting exception to the general rule that international obligations are only binding as long as A) the country in question agrees, or B) the rest of the countries gang up to enforce it.

[razieldolomite]

Historically speaking, the real use of international law is resolving the end of wars rather than outlaw it. Sure, you can make war illegal, but presumably if a country is doing a big invade, then they don't care about the surrounding international law. When the war is over, though, it allows the winners and losers to be prosecuted for their actions by the international community with a decent framework to ensure an aproximately just level of sanctions and terms.

[Tarvos]

Really, whomever came up with the Security Council rules should have included a stipulation that a country who is both a permanent member and a belligerent in a conflict cannot take part in the vote. Yes I would have this apply to the United States and their forever wars as I would the current Soviet Un- I mean Russia.

[jennw]

I never thought about whether a war was "legal" or not. I've always thought invading another sovereign country was not exactly legal, and definitely immoral.

[bigeddiespaghetti]

UN: “Russia, you’re not on the security council, that seat was held by the Soviet Union which your no longer are”
Russia: “we are the Soviet Union”
UN: “I thought you guys broke up”
Soviet Union: “that’s what we wanted you to think!”

[MGlBlaze]

"Can International Law Stop Putin's War on Ukraine" is a bit like saying "Can making theft illegal stop people from stealing things?"
The answer is that it only STOPS people who are willing to follow the rules. The real question is if the perpetrator will actually be punished meaninfully. That isn't going to be very helpful for the people of Ukraine if it only happens after the fact.

[ArcanumSymphonis]

I like the choice of tie. Keep it smooth, my good man.

Real talk though, international law is a topic I've always wanted to get into, but it seems so "hand-wavy". Glad to see you're dipping into the subject.

[tessalyyvuo]

I have great respect to both Ukrainian defenders and Russian anti-war protesters. Also great sympathy to Ukrainian civilians, and young Russian conscripts who were fooled to go to war. Best wishes from Finland.

[riverdaisy]

wrote a 5 page paper on the russia ukraine tensions back in december 2021 and it STILL barely scratched the surface yall he’s not wrong when he says this issue is insanely complicated