International law reaches deep into our ordinary lives. Thousands of treaties regulate everything from trade in agricultural products to air transport, rights in coastal waters, telecommunications, the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere, appropriate conduct in war, state territorial integrity, and criminal responsibility. Given their pervasive effects, treaties, conventions, customary rules and organizations in charge of making, applying and interpreting them, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Criminal Court, and the United Nations must comply with the basic requirements of justice. Yet the ready-made vocabulary of justice -- rights, liberty, equality, fairness, stability -- is a poor fit for the institutions of international law.
