Samenvatting

Many believe that public international law is important and crucial in resolving international disputes. It is indeed an essential resource in controlling states and other international actors. The UN has developed advisory standards, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Other international norms and laws have been established through international agreements; e.g. the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war or armed conflict, as well as by other international organizations such as the ILO, the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, UNESCO, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. Public International Law is hence of great importance in the realm of international relations. Through the years, the principles of international law have been widely accepted among the actors in the International Community.

However, nowadays there are still many big international disputes that remain unresolved and the role of international law in these cases seems weak. If we look into some serious contemporary political issues such as Palestinian-Israeli conflict and China-Taiwan dispute, parties to these disputes tend to protect their sovereignty and are sometimes likely to interpret international law in line with their own interests. It hence remains a question whether or not international law is playing its binding role properly in this situation.

This paper attempts to examine the current role as well as the effectiveness of international law in resolving disputes in 'real life' situations in the Post Cold War Era (1989 - onwards). The term 'International Law' can refer to several distinct legal disciplines. 'International Law' in this paper refers to, if not specified, 'Public International Law' that 'consists of rules and principles of general application dealing with the conduct of states and of intergovernmental organizations and with their relations inter se, as well as with some of their relations with persons, whether natural or juridical'.