Crises: Concern and Fuel for International Law and International Lawyers

Abstract

In the opening chapter the volume editors reflect on the content of the book. They do so, by first touching upon the ideas the Editorial Board of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law (NYIL) had in mind when opting for a volume on the issue of crisis, including such questions as: how international law reacts to crises and whether or not crises in daily realities also cause crises within separate international legal sub-disciplines. Next to that they summarize the eight chapters, followed by a reflection upon four topics and perspectives that come to the forefront when taking the contributions together and not reading them as reflections on separate trends in separate fields of international law. The four topics relate to: the role of crises in developing international law; do we do the things right or do we do the right things?; reconsidering and sharpening compliance; and the role of international lawyers.