The first book to explore the concept of 'Grotian Moments', named for Hugo Grotius, who helped marshal in the modern system of international law.

Michael Scharf is the John Deaver Drinko-Baker and Hostetler Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Global Legal Studies at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Scharf is the author of fifteen books, three of which have won book of the year awards. During the elder Bush and Clinton Administrations, Scharf served in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the US Department of State, where he held the positions of Attorney-Advisor for Law Enforcement and Intelligence, Attorney-Advisor for United Nations Affairs, and delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. In February 2005, Scharf and the Public International Law and Policy Group, a non-governmental organization he co-founded and directs, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the prosecutor of an international criminal tribunal for the work they have done to help in the prosecution of major war criminals.

1. Introduction; 2. Historical context; 3. Theoretical underpinnings; 4. Nuremberg as Grotian moment; 5. The Truman proclamation on the continental shelf; 6. Outer space law; 7. The Yugoslavia tribunal's Tadic decision; 8. The responsibility to protect doctrine; 9. The response to 9/11; 10. Conclusion.