Resumo
This article engages with the notion of lawfare by suggesting that its common application strays from its initial descriptive purpose. Built around seven prominent quotations that claim to either define lawfare or describe what the speaker deems an act of lawfare, this article argues that when one observes contemporary applications of the term lawfare and the associating debates about the legitimate function of international law, it becomes evident that most often applications of lawfare serve to decry a particular use of international law by a particular actor. When framing the lawfare debate or articulating a response to accusations of lawfare that are intended to delegitimize such specific uses of international law, this paper argues that it is prudent to understand the application of the lawfare label not as a general means of attacking or dismantling legal norms (as many critics do) but as a particular strategy intended to limit the emerging notion of access to international justice.
