Chapter 0

A Message from the Authors

A quick video introduction from the home office

UNSC conference.Source: UN Photo/Mark Garten, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Photo of a meeting in a highly decorated conference room. Tables arranged in a circle surround a small rectangular table. More rows of chairs filled with people around the tables. — UNSC conference.Source: UN Photo/Mark Garten, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

A quick video introduction from the home office, as our planned video production was not possible due to Covid-19.

The authors would like to thank Thomas Brown, Associate Legal Officer at VERTIC, for his assistance with the development of this learning unit.

Hello! My name is Sonia Drobysz and I am programme director for national implementation at VERTIC.

And I am Yasemin Balci. I’m a senior legal officer with the national implementation measures programme at VERTIC. VERTIC is a non-governmental organisation based in London. We work on the verification and implementation of international instruments. In particular those on the non-proliferation and disarmament of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and the security of related materials.

This learning unit builds on our work at VERTIC and will enable you to understand how the fundamental mechanism of international law govern and inform non-proliferation and disarmament. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will present the multimedia parts of the learning unit in audio format only. I, Sonia Drobysz, will guide you through chapter one and three.

And I, Yasemin Balci, will guide you through chapters two and four with chapter five split between us. We hope that you will enjoy and that you will gain an understanding of international non-proliferation and disarmament law.

Next Chapter1. Introduction

International law is the body of norms governing the relations between its subjects. This includes states, first and foremost, but also others, such as international organisations.