“All is fair in love and war”, or so goes the adage, but it is an adage quoted too much but contemplated too little. War is one of the few things where it is never absolutely established whether the ends justify the means. This is because the means are often things and actions that, outside the context of war, would be rendered immoral almost automatically. We immediately remember Sherman's famous quote - "war is hell" - in which he indicated the reality of war as a moment of absolute moral anarchy, where right or wrong is not determined by arbitrary values, but by necessity and opportunity ( Hobbes, 2011). ). It is, according to realist discourse, a time in which “the law is silent” (Walzer, 1977, p. 3). But the silence of the law may well mean its absence: war is a matter between two states, and perhaps the amorality of war means only its lack of moderation or oversight. This article will discuss international law, mainly through Walzer's perspective, and describe the functions, requirements and contexts of effective international laws, in the light of moral-philosophical discourse. The article, for the most part, will be a critique of realist international laws as they are theorized, primarily, in the Hobbesian framework, where moral evaluations are evaluated without regard to cultural context and deliberation; moral value is nothing other than the material interest of nations. In light of this, the article will (1) argue the need for moral dialogue by confirming Walzer's critique of Leviathan utilitarianism in the international arena, and (2) emphasize the need for culture and context in the development of international law, mainly through Morgenthau's post-positivist legal criticism. Walzer launches his invective against the...... middle of paper...... of International Law, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 260-284.Mueller, NE 2006, “Michael Walzer on the moral legitimacy of states and the morality of killing in war”, MA thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Oppenheim, L 1908, “The science of international law : his task and his method”, The American Journal of International Law, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 313-356. Schell, O 1997, “Bearing Witness”, The New York Times, 14 December, [online] Available at: [Accessed 19 February 2014]. Shaw, WH 2011, “Utilitarianism and the resort to war”, Utility, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 380-401. “Social Contract Theory,” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d., [online] Available at: [Accessed 19 February 2014]. Walzer, M 1977, Just and Unjust Wars, 4th ed., Basic Books, New York.