Thomas Franck's Theory of the International Law Legitimacy

The relevance of the study is determined by the fundamental role of legitimacy in international law and its lack of meaning in scientific research. The main purpose of the study is to determine the features of the theory of the international law legitimacy by Thomas Franck. The methodology of the study is a hermeneutical approach, which made it possible to consider the concept of legitimacy in international law by Thomas Franck as a result of his argumentative strategies and interpretative activities regarding the functioning of subjects of international law.
The main conclusions of the study are that Thomas Franck's theory of legitimacy defines legitimacy as a property of international principles, norms and institutions due to their compliance with the generally accepted principles of law process and the desire to comply with the requirements of such principles among the participants of the international community. Thomas Franck argues that such factors are determinism, symbolic validation, coherence, and compliance. The significance of the study is determined by the identification of the main provisions of the theory of legitimacy of international law by Thomas Franck, which significantly influenced further studies of legitimacy in the international law process. One important such provision is the assertion that nations in the international system are forced to act on the basis of compliance with international norms that are considered legitimate ones. Accordingly, the measure of the legitimacy of these norms is a kind of safeguard for any nations to prevent the unlimited spread of their power on the world stage.