Symptom of the Moment: A Juridical Gap for U.S. Occupation Forces Karen Guttieri* Introduction Richard Falk has argued that in order to create a better world, we must recognize structures of politics that are persistent but we must also perceive "possibilities of innovation that lie within the shadowland cast backward by emergent potential structures of power" . 1 Hugo Grotius, says Falk, was a shadow- land explorer. In 1625 Grotius published three volumes titled De Jure Belli ac Pacis (On the Law of War and Peace). The vol- umes were composed in a transitional era, from a feudal to a statist order. They were anticipatory-thus, although predating the Peace of Westphalia, they fashioned state sovereignty as an ordering principle in international relations. 2 The effort was normative in the sense that Grotius reminded rulers and peoples of their obligations in external relationships, and the threat posed to justice when war is used as an arbitrary means for settling disputes or attaining interests. 3 Taking note of the normative and anticipatory character of the Grotian project, Falk urged contemporary scholars to con- tinue the Grotian quest. Today one might conceive of an oppor- tunity for shadow land exploration as a "Grotian moment", im- bued with the themes of war, peace, governance by law, and political transition. Hints of such a moment might be identified today where there is an absence of law or a divergence between • Ph.D. Candidate, University of British Columbia. Thanks are owed to Professors Robert Jackson and Ivan Head, who engaged me in thought- ful discussions as I formulated my thinking on this topic and to Profes- sor Maurice Copithorne for his comments on my presentation based on this paper. I am grateful to Jaye Ellis and Obiora Okafor. This essay benefited greatly from comments on an earlier version provided by Pro- fessor Brian Job. I accept any errors or omissions as my own. 131