The threat of nuclear war is with us again—in a way those of an older generation will recall from the Cold War. With Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, China’s nuclear buildup, and the United States’ continued commitment to nuclear weapons, today’s multilateral world poses even greater risks that deterrence will go awry and these weapons be used, whether intentionally or through human or equipment error. With today’s arsenals, credible projections show nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia could lead to over 5 billion deaths.

As lawyers, we need to ask ourselves, What is the potential role of law in addressing these risks? Is there law here and, if so, does it matter––or is this an area essentially beyond law?