International law and global issues: VCE Politics Unit 3

What this dot point is asking

You must judge the effectiveness of international laws in addressing your issue, and how far global actors respond effectively to those laws. The design uses a broad meaning of international law: treaties, declarations, bilateral and multilateral agreements, and even decisions of bodies such as the UN Security Council.

The answer

What counts as international law here

The design includes more than binding treaties. For your issue, list the instruments that actually apply and note whether each is binding.

• Treaties and conventions bind the states that ratify them.
• Declarations and goals set norms but usually bind no one legally.
• Security Council resolutions can be binding on all UN members when adopted under the right chapter of the Charter.
• Bilateral and multilateral agreements may be binding or political commitments.

Why enforcement is hard

There is no world government. States create the law by consent, and most compliance is voluntary. The main tools to encourage compliance are monitoring, reporting, reputational pressure, sanctions and, for some matters, courts. Sovereignty means a state can refuse to join, withdraw or ignore a ruling, particularly when a powerful state's interests are at stake.

Judging effectiveness: three questions

1. Coverage. Do the major actors belong to the law?
2. Compliance. Do they follow it, and what happens if they do not?
3. Outcome. Has the issue improved?

Example (climate change). In July 2025 the International Court of Justice gave an advisory opinion that states have obligations under international law to protect the climate system, and that climate change is an urgent threat caused by human activity. Advisory opinions are not binding judgments, but they carry legal weight and can shape later arguments. The Paris Agreement relies on nationally determined contributions that states set for themselves, a design that encourages participation but cannot force ambition.

Example (weapons of mass destruction). The Chemical Weapons Convention and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons set strong norms and have wide membership, yet compliance depends on states' choices. The expiry of New START in February 2026 shows how a bilateral legal framework can lapse when political relations deteriorate.

Worked example

Question. Evaluate the effectiveness of international law in addressing your issue.

Model answer outline (development). The UN Sustainable Development Goals were adopted unanimously, but they are goals, not binding law. The 2025 UN progress report found only 35 percent of targets on track or making moderate progress, and 18 percent in reverse (the June 2026 report gives 36 percent and 15 percent). The goals shape national plans and reporting, which is a real but limited effect. Overall, effectiveness is limited: strong coverage and legitimacy, weak enforcement and slow results.

Try this

Q1

State two examples of international law named in the study design. Model answer: Treaties and Security Council decisions (also declarations and multilateral agreements).

Q2

Explain why sovereignty limits the effectiveness of international law. Model answer: States create and consent to law, so they can decline to join, withdraw or ignore it, and no authority above them can compel compliance.

Q3

Distinguish a binding treaty from a declaration. Model answer: A ratified treaty creates legal obligations for its parties; a declaration states principles or goals without legal force.