International Law as a Limit to States' Sovereignty

Abstract

There has been a growing concern within the International legal order about the relevance of International Law in the 21st Century. Many have argued that with the current disposition of states to Sovereignty, many states are beginning to feel threatened by the International legal system. This study examines whether International law threatens states' sovereignty. This is imperative because International Law is necessary to ensure order in the world and to promote peaceful interaction among states. If states consider it necessary to disobey international in order to protect their sovereignty, international law will lose its relevance. The result of this will be chaos and anarchy. This study adopts teleological, comparative and applied legal research methodology. This work makes reference the works of scholars like Hugo Grotius, Thomas Hobbes and other scholars. It gives in-depth analysis of various theories of sovereignty. The study also examines the intertwined history of sovereignty in international law and the impact of each one on the other. This study establishes how international law limits and threatens states' sovereignty and various ways through which this happens have been highlighted. More so, the study considers colonization and its effect on international law and the concept of sovereignty, particularly the sovereignty of third world states how colonialism threatened the sovereignty of independent states that existed in Nigeria before the amalgamation of 1914 and how international law still threatens the Sovereignty of Third World States even after colonization. The study finally recommends practical solutions to the problem with the aim of promoting a just world order.