This chapter deals with Germany’s perspective on and activities in the United Nations and other international organisations. The first part deals with Germany’s involvement in a UN Security Council reform, Germany failing to integrate climate security into the work of the Security Council and Germany’s position that the UN headquarters must be accessible to all member States. Germany’s take on Security Council Resolution 2510 (2020) will be criticised. It will be assessed why Germany opposes the US interpretation of Security Council Resolution 2331 (2015). Germany’s position on civil society briefers to the Security Council, Germany accusing Russia and China of obstructing the implementation of resolutions, Germany’s difficulties as chair of the Libya Sanctions Committee, Germany’s membership of the Economic and Social Council and criticism against Germany for its handling of the Afghanistan file in the UN General Assembly is also addressed. Russia’s and China’s criticism of the German Security Council membership and reviews of the German membership will also be examined. The second part encompasses Germany’s position on youth participation in international organisations.

No case studies in 2020.

This chapter is concerned with Germany’s perspective on the foundations and functions of international law. It is structured in two parts: international law in general and sources of international law. The second part examines Germany’s view of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) that sought to limit Iran’s nuclear programme. It is argued that the political aims of Germany do not justify the twisting of international law. The Federal Government portrayed the document as a binding international treaty. It did so by speaking of an ‘agreement’, from which the US had decided to ‘withdraw’ and by depicting the participants as ‘parties’. Further, Germany argued that Iran is bound by ‘obligations’ under the JCPoA. Germany also spoke of ‘Articles’ in the JCPoA and asserted that the document was ‘signed’. Moreover, Germany argued that the JCPoA became international law through the endorsement of the UN Security Council. However, the UN Security Council never marked its endorsement as a binding decision. Four and half years after the adoption of the JCPoA, Germany admitted that the JCPoA constitutes only a record of mutual political commitments and is therefore ‘soft law’.

The chapter covers inter-State political and economic relations and transactions. Five chapters span diplomatic and consular relations, diplomatic and consular protection, unilateral coercive measures short of the use of force, the law of treaties and international economic law. The first examines the closure of Germany’s Pyongyang embassy, Germany’s call to protect the US embassy in Iraq, Germany denouncing the arrest of the UK ambassador to Iran, the agrément of the German ambassador to Poland, the difference between summoning and inviting an ambassador, Iran condemning the German ambassador, the request of the German embassy in Bangkok for protection, co-locating diplomatic premises and Indonesia declaring a German diplomat a persona non grata. The third looks at the implementation of the Libyan arms embargo and Germany’s enforcement of sanctions against North Korea. The fourth addresses Germany appealing to Iran not to execute persons who were minors at the time of the crime and the German Chancellor’s remarks on breaching international law. The fifth comprises Germany’s proposals in the Vattenfall arbitration and Germany’s support of reforming the Energy Charter Treaty.

No case studies in 2020.

This chapter deals with the German position on States and their organs. It is divided into five parts; territorial sovereignty, political independence, Statehood and recognition, organs of the State and their status and State succession. The first part deals with the legal consequences of Germany’s non-recognition of the Russian annexation of Crimea while distinguishing the same from sanctions policies, Germany’s position on the international legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Germany’s views on the presence of Thailand’s king in and his conduct of State affairs from Germany and Germany’s position on Israel’s annexation plans in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The second part addresses Germany’s response to the new Hong Kong national security law, and Germany’s position on Taiwan. The third part, statehood and recognition, encompasses Germany’s opinion on Palestine not being a State party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Germany’s non-recognition of the ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’, and Germany’s support of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly as an observer.

The conclusion stresses the need for pragmatism and balance as responses to the grave threats to international peace and prosperity in the current world. It emphasizes that overly ambitious projects undermine international law, but pathways to cooperation and legal entrenchment still exist.

This chapter describes the end of the cold war, the Washington Consensus that drove efforts to reform the institutions and economies of the states that previously had pursued autarkic economic policies, and the counternarratives that pushed back against the Washington Consensus