Mechanisms for the enforcement of international law – strength and downside

Abstract

The idea of international law is to establish a set of rules that will regulate the conduct of States and other non-State actors. However,  enforcement mechanism is one key challenges of international law against the backdrop that international law is created by the  consensus of States and only by their cooperation can the violation of same be enforced. This cooperation entails, among others putting  in place some mechanisms to ensure that the violation of international law does not go unpunished. International law has thus been  frustrated by the issue of enforcement mechanisms. Hence, quite unlike municipal law, it has been argued that international law lacks the  characteristic enforcement mechanisms evident in every domestic legal system. Against this background, the paper examined the enforcement mechanisms of international law and the downside of these mechanisms. To achieve its aim, the paper adopted doctrinal  method of legal research which entails the use of primary sources of law such as international treaties/ conventions, international  customary rules, and case-laws. The paper also employed secondary sources of law such as relevant journal articles and textbooks. Based on the analysis of these materials, the paper revealed that international law does in fact have some mechanisms for its enforcement but  then that the principle of State sovereignty; lack of cooperation and political will by States; lack of voluntary submission to the ICJ’s  jurisdiction and poor funding are some of the major obstacles of the mechanisms. To surmount these challenges, the paper  recommended, among others, compulsory submission by States to ICJ’s Jurisdiction; political will/ cooperation by States; and adequate  funding of the mechanisms. These, it is hoped, will help strengthen these mechanisms and make them more effective to meet the  demands of international law.