Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The norms, rules and principles of international law are attracting heightened contemporary public discourse. Amongst the issues being discussed are: when force may lawfully be used under the UN Charter; how force may be used under the laws of armed conflict; the roles of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court; legal aspects of climate change; legal aspects of defence and national security; and international trade. Straddling all these is the need for an understanding of the nature and identity of international law as the basis of any 'order 'in the international system. For Australia, several questions arise: is recourse to concepts such as the 'rules-based order,' rather than 'the international law-based order', an optimal conceptual pathway to effective agency as an actor in international law? How to account for power, authority, interests and values? Where are we headed?
The norms, rules and principles of international law are attracting heightened contemporary public discourse. Amongst the issues being discussed are: when force may lawfully be used under the UN Charter; how force may be used under the laws of armed conflict; the roles of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court; legal aspects of climate change; legal aspects of defence and national security; and international trade. Straddling all these is the need for an understanding of the nature and identity of international law as the basis of any 'order 'in the international system. For Australia, several questions arise: is recourse to concepts such as the 'rules-based order,' rather than 'the international law-based order', an optimal conceptual pathway to effective agency as an actor in international law? How to account for power, authority, interests and values? Where are we headed?
