A Crisis of International Law or of Mutual Respect? An Optimistic Legacy to Our Students

International law is not in crisis, let alone dead. This is not simply because it is working as usual in many areas, most of its rules are complied with as a matter of routine, and a significant part of the international community has condemned the said internationally wrongful acts. It is not even because a number of noteworthy countermoves are currently underway: key multilateral agreements have recently entered into force or are being negotiated, an unprecedent number of judicial proceedings addressing issues of global concern are pending, or have been concluded, and several international organizations are doing their business as normal. Conversely, what really matters is that the four shocks I mentioned have not been caused by a fault in international law.