The Legality of the Ukraine War in 2022: An Examination of International Law and Justifications

Abstract

This paper discusses the illegality of the 2022 war in Ukraine and argues that this illegality matters. It considers three legal justifications that have been offered, to varying degrees, formally and informally, for the war. These justifications are self-defense (and its more contentious variants, anticipatory self-defense and preventative war), collective security under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, and, finally, the doctrine of humanitarian intervention. However, none of these provides a secure basis for going to war. The most plausible of these justifications, based on an interpretation of existing Security Council resolutions, is arcane and unconvincing. This paper situates the debate over the war in the context of some recent dilemmas concerning the international order, including the problem of law in international affairs, the question of novelty, the claims of equality, the assessment of evidence, and the presence of hyperpower. In February and March 2014, Ukraine was literally overrun by a chain of events that eventually led to the incorporation of Crimea into Russian territory. A joint endeavor by Crimean and Russian authorities used the internal conflict in Ukraine to deprive the Ukrainian government of its control over Crimea, to hold a referendum, and to declare the independence of Crimea. Already on the day after the declaration of independence, Russia formally recognized Crimea as an independent state,1 and the Crimean parliament requested that Crimea be admitted to Russia. Soon after that, the accession treaty was signed, and within only a few more days, all Russian constitutional requirements for the accession of Crimea to Russia were fulfilled.