The Development of International Law on Nuclear Disarmament and the Rule of Law

The purpose of this paper is to clarify how international law on nuclear disarmament has developed and what effect it has produced in the last 80 years. Furthermore, it examines the interrelationship between nuclear weapons as a means of the rule of power and international law on nuclear disarmament as a means of the rule of law. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the bilateral treaties between the United States and Soviet Union/Russia on strategic nuclear forces, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and other treaties are precisely analyzed and evaluated. The rise, progress and regress of international law on nuclear disarmament are also analyzed. Finally, the paper argues that in order to strengthen the international law on nuclear disarmament, the shift of the international system from the rule of power to the rule of law is necessary.