Since the 1980s, a radical development has taken place in international dispute settlement. The number of international courts, tribunals and other international dispute resolution mechanisms has increased dramatically. The number of international disputes resolved by such means has risen in even greater proportions. These disputes more and more frequently raise issues that combine private and public international law, effectively bringing back to light the deep-seated interactions that have always existed between these two traditional fields of academic study. The regulatory impact of certain branches of international dispute settlement – such as international arbitration – further create the need to take a step back and think about where we are going. The growth of the field of international dispute settlement in practice, the novelty and significance of the issues posed, and the originality of the academic angle from which such issues need to be addressed are the factors that triggered the launch of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement.