It is fair to say that international law has always considered its fundamental purpose to be the maintenance of peace. Although ethical preoccupations stimulated its development and inform its growth, international law has historically been regarded by the international community primarily as a means to ensure the establishment and preservation of world peace and security. This chapter is concerned with the non-binding methods and procedures available within the international order for the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts.

Basically the techniques of conflict management fall into two categories: diplomatic procedures and adjudication. The former involves an attempt to resolve differences either by the contending parties themselves or with the aid of other entities by the use of the discussion and fact-finding methods. Adjudication procedures involve the determination by a disinterested third party of the legal and factual issues involved, either by arbitration or by the decision of judicial organs.

The political approach to conflict settlement is divided into two sections, with the measures applicable by the United Nations being separately examined in chapter 22 as they possess a distinctive character. The adjudication processes will be looked at in the following chapter, being divided so as to differentiate the techniques of arbitration and judicial settlement. Although for the sake of convenience each method of dispute settlement is separately examined, it should be noted that in any given situation a range of mechanisms may well be utilised.