International Law explainers / The weakness of international law

International law: it's great at some things, but not so good at others.

It often comes down to two questions: do you agree to accept these laws? And what happens when you don't?

After all, law is really just... well, law.

It's something written down sometimes not even written down.

It's up to people to make it happen: to enforce or implement it.

When everything works well and fairly, we call this justice.

Justice is never easy, but it's more straightforward inside individual countries.

On the world stage, it's very hard.

Remember, there's no single central authority.

There are some international institutions, but they can have limited impact.