Top international lawyers explain why confiscating and transferring Russian assets to Ukraine is legal and important for the entire world.

Former US diplomat Philip Zelikow and a large group of international lawyers plan to publish an open letter next week arguing that the West is taking too narrow a view of customary international law. These lawyers have focused on the International Law Commission, which issued articles on the responsibility of states for their illegal acts. These articles discuss countermeasures that Ukraine can legally take against Russia.

The document also states that Russia, by causing the international refugee crisis, food crisis, and security crisis, has also harmed many other countries and that these countries have the right to retaliate. Some crimes are so severe that they represent an attack on the entire international community.

So, blocking Russian assets and compensating Ukraine will make it clear that the international community will not be defeated this time, as happened in the 1930s. This will set a precedent whereby the aggressor pays. Two years after the start of the war, the world must restore justice by enforcing international law.