Abstract

This paper seeks to consider one simple question, namely how does an international lawyer—especially a mainstream international lawyer (be that academic or practitioner)—respond and adapt to problematic circumstances in international affairs? Of course, international lawyers would like to think that we handle difficult situations reasonably well. But, scratching the surface a little deeper, is it always true that as international lawyers, we cope when the circumstances on the ground do not align neatly with the rules in the book? Using recent, if diverse, examples of difficulties within the climate change regime and questions over the legality of the 2003 Iraq War, the paper considers how the international lawyer makes sense of international affairs.