The international law refers to a set of rules that are set up by treaty or custom to be used and complied by the member states. Such treaties include Commonwealth and United Nations, which have different sets of laws for its member states. The United Nations has set up a charter with its own laws, which revolve around upholding justice and respect for any obligations discussed in the treaty, while those of Commonwealth majorly focus on human rights and democracy. However, there are certain countries that abide by the international law, while others have failed to comply.
One country that has been known to abide by international law is Singapore, which has worked hard to defend human rights against any form of violation, as stated in the UN Charter. It has taken upon itself the role of condemning other countries that defy the international law and even refused the invasion of states such as Cambodia and Afghanistan (Koh, 2016).
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Another country that has been able to comply by the international law is Israel, which has ensured that it maintains human rights by protecting its citizens from unlawful war crimes. This is in regards to the war crime by Hamas directed at Israeli citizens when Gaza was captured, where anti-personal rockets were aimed at them. Israel issued a blockade in response to war, which is considered a humanitarian act in the international law (Dershowitz, 2010). This is because this response was declared to be lawful, despite the fact that the citizens experienced a shortage in commodities.
The United States has been accused severally for not complying with the International law, and for upholding the notion of supremacy and exceptionalism over other states. This is mainly due to its use of military force to settle disputes in other countries, and its plan to attack Iran’s nuclear program back in 2012, a move that defies the international law which prohibits the offensive use of military force to settle a dispute. Recently, US has made plans to shut down North Korea’s nuclear plant, with President Trump declaring that severe harm would befall North Korea for failing to shut down the plant (Camilleri, 2017). This still goes against the international law since they are not allowed to use bullying as a strategy for settling any dispute, but which they intend to apply.
Australia also defies the international law, as observed in its justice system which did not prosecute soldiers in its defense force for unlawful killing in Afghanistan (Hartridge, 2017). This defied the Commonwealth laws that require prosecution of war criminals. The soldiers were found to be war criminals, but Australia failed to prosecute them, saying that the crimes were not committed within Australia and thus cannot be punished.
The difference between the two sets is in how they handle the various issues both locally and internationally, with regards to the international law. Those that comply with the law ensure that they set their justice limits and human rights within the international law. On the other hand, those that do not comply fail to consider the international law when executing justice.
References
Camilleri, J. (2017). As a Historic Nuclear Weapons Treaty is Reached, G20 Leaders Miss the Mark on North Korea. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/as-an-historic-nuclear-weapons-treaty-is-reached-g20-leaders-miss-the-mark-on-north-korea-80464
Dershowitz, A. (2010). Israel Obeyed International Law. NY Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/israel-obeyed-international-law-legally-gaza-flotilla-conflict-open-and-shut-case-article-1.180324
Hartridge, S. Explainer: How Australia’s Military Justice System Works. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-australias-military-justice-system-works-80889
Koh, T. (2016). The Great Powers and the Rule of Law. Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-great-powers-an-rule-of-law
