The War in Ukraine – Pathology of the International Legal System?

Proceeding from the common assertion that the war in Ukraine proves that international law “doesn’t work” anymore, the article tries to differentiate among the three possible readings of this claim. First, the statement may mean that a central part of international law, namely the regime on the use of force, has been stripped of its ‘legality’. Second, the allegation may be that we are dealing with a situation which Hart characterized as “the pathology of a legal system”. The third possible reading would be that international law on the use of force is not authoritative, meaning it does not have the capacity to generate the sense of bindingness among its addressees. The article argues in favor of the second reading.