ABSTRACT
From the earliest times and certainly from 16th century it was recognised that a breach of international order leading to conflict could set in train undesirable consequences. Thus, from the outset writers on international law have given much thought to the topic of how international disputes could be resolved short of conflict; such reflections were also motivated by the ethical consideration that unrestrained conflict would entail considerable loss of human life. Thus, from the 16th century as international law began to develop, much thought was given as to the question of how international society could be managed so as to avoid conflict and a descent into widespread war. As the capacity of armaments increased in the 19th century, so a number of methods began to emerge designed to resolve international problems short of conflict. In general terms methods of peaceful resolution of disputes can be divided into: (i) diplomatic methods of dispute settlement; (ii) legal or judicial methods of dispute resolution; (iii) methods arising under the particular rules of an international organisation.
