Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

Since the International Court of Justice ("ICJ") issued its 1996 Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons over twenty-five years ago, the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons ("TPNW") entered into force, more NuclearWeapons-Free-Zones ("NWFZ") have been established, and the prohibition of the threat or use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances has evolved. Although nonbinding on future proceedings, a new ICJ advisory opinion should be requested by authorized organs, specialized agencies, or related organizations, to keep abreast of the current law and to pursue their efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

A new advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons is pertinent to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Directly before the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin released a speech targeted at anyone who would interfere in his war and threatened "consequences as you have never experienced in your history." The international community viewed President Putin's statements as a threat to use nuclear weapons. In a later, nationally televised speech on September 21, 2022, President Putin told the Russian people, "[w]hen the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will without reservation, use all the means at our disposal. This is not a bluff." President Putin directly referenced the non liquet the ICJ left open in its 1996 Opinion.

The U.N. must not stand by waiting for threats of use to transition to actual use until it acts: "This is not a bluff." As of the 1996 Opinion, international law valued state security over human security. These outmoded values are being perpetuated by the Russian Federation as it continues its invasion of Ukraine. As such, a new advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons should be requested by authorized organs, specialized agencies, or related organizations to help them stay abreast of the current law and pursue their efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

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