Since 1991, Somalia has become the epitome par excellence of a collapsedrnstate. One is tempted to seek explanation and explore the role of staternauthorities entrusted with the responsibility to law and order in suchrncountries. The quasi-abandonment by the international community, thernongoing d isorder in Somalia, reluctance of the major players in therninternational arena, simply meant simply meant the total inability of itsrnTransitional Federal government to survive the consequence of thernwithdrawal by Ethiopia. This is compounded by the chronic deficiency of arnstate structure in the country and the virtual international Is lamistsrnconnection to Somalia's internal conflict, which led otherwise willingrnAfrican countries hesitate to intervene. This paper uses the case of Somaliarnto demons trate that there is s till need for the United Nations, the world'srnmajor player in mediating p eace and order, as well as actors with inrnAfrica to define clear and equitable standards designed to operationalisernthis new paradigm. The objective of the research is, examine the efforts, byrninternational and local actors, to restore law and order in Somalia. For thisrnperspecti ve, this res earch has assessed the legality or otherwise, ofrnEthiopia intervention in Somalia.