We have weakened the very systems of international law we need to restore peace in Ukraine

In the global and regional corridors of power, Russia’s place – as the successor to the Soviet Union – has made international diplomacy appear impotent. There has been continued human rights abuses abroad and on its own soil, and under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, there has been an almost total disregard for national sovereignty over the past decade.

Now, the minds of world leaders have been forced to focus on the importance of public international law to keep each other in check as we watch the very tangible threat to global peace unfold. The images of breaches of humanitarian norms, human …