International Law as Human Choice

On July 8, 1996, the world awoke to a landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ): “Nations are not prohibited from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons under international law.” Less than two years prior, and after decades of concern about the harm that the existence of nuclear weapons could do to the world, the UN General Assembly had requested that the ICJ provide an advisory opinion on the following question: “Is the threat or use of nuclear weapons in any circumstance permitted under international law?”