New podcast episode Right to News: 'Is the world still ruled by law or by power?

What is international law still worth?

Even after consultations with Denmark and Greenland, Donald Trump remains determined to annex Greenland. According to Trump, the United States is the only country that can prevent China and Russia from taking over the Arctic island.

Meanwhile, the American army can continue to intervene in Venezuela, even without the explicit permission of the American Parliament.

In the latest episode of the Recht op Nieuws podcast (in Dutch), presenter Jan Brouwer analyses the state of international law with specialists André de Hoogh and Antenor Hallo de Wolf. The central question: is the world still governed by law or by power?

International law under pressure

Venezuela illustrates how international law is under pressure: the United States arrested Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president, without Venezuela's consent and brought him to the US to try him for narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. Under international law, a sitting head of state enjoys immunity and cannot simply be arrested or prosecuted abroad. This action shows how the US acts unilaterally and ignores international legal norms.

Trump's statement about annexing Greenland violates the UN Charter, which prohibits the use or threat of force against the territorial integrity of a country. Greenland is an autonomous part of Denmark, and any independence must come through self-determination, not foreign interference.

Nevertheless, international law is not dead. When Russia invaded Ukraine, more than 140 UN member states condemned the violation of territorial integrity. This shows that states still value the law.

If countries allow violations to pass without response or condemnation, there is a risk of a return to a pre-Second World War world.

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