Silvia Uscov: “International law is going through one of the deepest crises in its modern history today.”

In a post by one of the most renowned Romanian lawyers, Silvia Uscov concludes with a professional and political alarm signal that has disastrous social, economic, and security consequences.

“The Crisis of Contemporary International Law

International law today is undergoing one of the deepest crises in its modern history, reflecting fundamental structural tensions in the organization of global society. This erosion is manifested by the dramatic increase in political violence globally and the proliferation of armed conflicts, demonstrating the growing inability of norms and institutions to provide effective responses to contemporary challenges.

The structural causes of this crisis have their roots in the transformation of the global balance of power since the end of the Cold War. The current international legal system, designed in the geopolitical context after 1945, reflects a distribution of power that no longer corresponds to the realities of the 21st century.

The emergence of new global and regional powers creates pressures on an institutional framework that still privileges the former victorious powers. This asymmetry generates tensions that manifest through the challenge of the legitimacy of existing norms and the development of alternatives that defy the Western monopoly on international law.

Also, in this context, the balance of Westphalian sovereignty principles based on national sovereignty is being discussed, which faces increasing transnational challenges/threats, as well as pressures from certain actors who seek to undermine these fundamental principles.

The fragmentation of the legal system is manifested by the inability of international organizations to respond effectively to major crises. The UN Security Council is paralyzed by the divisions of the great powers, and peacekeeping efforts are fragmented among different institutions as central authority declines. This fragmentation is not only geographical but also functional, with each area developing its own norms and regulatory mechanisms that often contradict each other.

The concrete manifestations of the crisis are evident in the erosion of respect for fundamental international norms. The principle of non-intervention is systematically violated through unilateral military operations, and international humanitarian law is blatantly ignored in contemporary conflicts. The withdrawal of states from important multilateral treaties is accelerating, demonstrating the fragility of international commitments and the tendency to return to bilateral solutions. Even in established democracies, the crisis is manifested through attempts to undermine democratic institutions and challenge the constitutional order.

The universality of human rights is challenged by states with different cultural perspectives, which claim the legitimacy of communitarian or authoritarian values, and even democratic states are beginning to adopt such a completely misguided view. The legitimacy of certain norms perceived as being imposed by former colonial powers is also questioned, demanding greater participation in the development of international law. This diversity of approaches creates difficulties in defining a common set of principles to govern global interactions.

Technology fundamentally transforms the nature of conflicts and international relations. The convergence of geopolitics and cyber warfare threatens critical infrastructures, and cyberspace along with the use of AI brings major shifts in perspective. The proliferation of autonomous weapons generates a new arms race comparable to the nuclear one. The development of lethal autonomous systems raises fundamental ethical and legal questions about delegating life-and-death decisions to machines, without international law providing adequate answers. Global digital platforms operate beyond national borders, creating jurisdictional challenges that exceed the capacities of national legal systems.

The rivalry between great powers shows how geopolitical tensions undermine international legal cooperation. Trade wars, financial sanctions, and technological decoupling produce economic fragmentations that are reflected in the legal sphere. International economic organizations face governance crises, and dispute resolution mechanisms remain paralyzed. This competition extends over technological standards and strategic alliances, creating parallel systems of rules and norms.

For the future of international law, distinct scenarios are shaping up that will define the coming decades. As conflict rates have significantly increased in recent years, and contemporary conflicts are transnational, combining local competitions with international influence, the most interesting scenario is likely the hybridization of legal systems. This reality entails the coexistence of areas of intense legal cooperation with areas of complete normative conflict, creating an unpredictable global legal mosaic in which actors adopt different strategies among various normative systems to choose what is most convenient for their own state.

The current crisis does not represent the end of international law, but a profound metamorphosis that will redefine its fundamental nature. Recent experiences demonstrate that, despite evident limitations, the necessity of international cooperation remains vital for the survival of the human species. The future will depend on the ability of the global community to adapt Westphalian principles of sovereignty and non-intervention to the realities of an interconnected world and the new geopolitical context in which responses can no longer be dictated unilaterally by the collective West.

These challenges cannot be resolved through unilateral actions or the imposition of uniform models, requiring mechanisms of inter-civilizational cooperation that respect the diversity of political systems and the specific cultural values of each region. This reconfiguration will determine whether humanity can combine state autonomy, regional cooperation, and the global coordination necessary to respond to threats that transcend national borders.”

Silvia Uscov is a Managing Partner of the firm, overseeing the Bankruptcy and Restructuring workgroup. As an experienced business attorney, she draws on her experience in corporate law and commercial dispute resolution – litigation & arbitration. An experienced Human Rights lawyer, Silvia has safeguarded human rights and civil liberties through civil and criminal proceedings, in front of both local and international courts such as ECHR.

https://www.uscov.eu/silvia-uscov/