International law is the object of both great hope and great fear. In an era of unprecedented globalization, international legal institutions serve as vehicles for the facilitation of commerce and cooperation among nations. And in the last year, after the worst act of international crime in history, many view international law as a prerequisite for justice. Yet there is no doubt that the desire for a global legal order is resisted by many, and for good reason. International law demands the limitation of state sovereignty and raises new fears of abuse. Our symposium examines the history of international law and assesses possibilities for its application today.

First, New York University Global Visiting Professor Ratna Kapur presents some of the concerns surrounding international law in the context of the post-September 11 world. Her critique examines abuses of legitimate authority that have been undertaken in an overzealous application of international standards and raises the question of whether a legal definition of terrorism is possible. Human-rights attorney and author Geoffrey Robertson is also troubled by recent developments in international law, especially the use of military tribunals to try suspected terrorists. Full trials, he argues, are not only required by justice but also offer the best chance of demystifying terrorists’ ideologies. These two authors outline some of the most pressing challenges to a just international legal order.

Exploring less publicized but no less important areas of international law, Geoffrey Tansey, a frequent writer on issues of international patent law, provides a thorough analysis of an issue sure to be of crucial importance in the decades to come. Intellectual property rights, he argues, will help define the relationship between developed and developing nations, for better or worse. In this light, international law is necessary as well as good—provided it is implemented in a democratic fashion. Also writing in support of international legal principles, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers believes that international law is essential in light of recent refugee crises. He assesses the increasingly urgent situation of the world’s refugee populations and argues that only a progressive reconception of international refugee law can safeguard human rights.

Concluding the symposium, Harvard Law School Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter and Cranston International Peace Fellow William Burke-White hold that the next great achievement of international law will be the legal protection of civilians. These authors offer a compelling framework for understanding how the legal concept of terrorism can be satisfactorily defined and paint a thoughtful vision of the future of international law.