This timely Research Handbook examines the dynamic and interdependent relationship between law and diplomacy in the contemporary international system. Through accounts of the actual practice of international law and diplomacy, it provides insights into how international law and relations operate and examines the complex relationship. An impressive selection of contributors provides analyses of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy in international law making, interpretation, and adjudication. These accounts include examinations of legal diplomacy, reforms within international organisations, judicial diplomacy, and the role of non-state actors - including NGOs and corporations - in the international system. Chapters consist of case studies of treaty negotiations, multilateral legal reform, and the resolution of disputes under formal and informal international legal mechanisms. This Handbook also assesses the relative roles of lawyers, diplomats and lawyer-diplomats within the international system, and the ethical framework for their professional conduct. This Handbook will be helpful to advanced undergraduate, graduate, and law students, as well as researchers, practitioners, and policy makers interested in multilateralism, diplomacy, international law, international organisations, civil society, and the ethics of law and diplomacy.

The international community can creatively and aggressively address deadly conflict through mediation, arbitration, and the development of international institutions to promote reconciliation. The editors of this book designed a systematic framework with which contributors compare third party intervention in twelve conflicts of the post Cold War period. They examine the role of international organizations the United Nations, international development banks, and international law institutions and they analyze the tools and forms of leverage in successful and unsuccessful mediations. Based on the case studies, the editors identify the most effective institutions, make recommendations for improving interventions, and elucidate several important insights into the mediation process and the role of the international community in dispute resolution.