The main criticism of international law?

• A. It lacks law enforcement
• B. It is too strict
• C. It is unnecessary
• D. It is universally accepted

Answer: (A)

Enforcement is the key issue in international law. There isn’t a single global police force or universally binding court that can compel every state to obey. States consent to treaties and follow customs, but punishment for violations depends on voluntary compliance, diplomacy, sanctions by other states, or collective security actions through bodies like the UN. This makes enforcement uneven and slow, so violations can go unpunished or resolved through power politics rather than legal compulsion. That gap—where rules exist but are not reliably enforced—is the main criticism. The other statements don’t capture this core problem: international law isn’t typically seen as excessively strict or unnecessary, and it isn’t universally accepted by all states.