Diplomacy, responsibility and accountability in transboundary water disputes

The present chapter focuses on the combined tools available under international law and diplomacy in order to address potential and actual transboundary water disputes. The analysis of the international practice corroborates the view that the perception of international law looked at from the outside, as a formalistic and adjudication-centred process, belongs to a misconceived narrative. This holds true particularly with regard to international water law, which is a body of law primarily aimed at balancing the equities at stake within a framework of distributive justice.