Leading international lawyer Philippe Sands has been involved in high-profile cases including Guantanamo and Pinochet. In Lawless World he draws on disturbing material to show how America has reneged on agreements governing war, torture and the environment – with Britain often turning a blind eye or colluding in some of the worst violations. In recent years America has abandoned the Kyoto Protocol and the Statute of the International Criminal Court, ignored human rights standards at Abu Ghraib and disregarded the UN’s prohibition of pre-emptive force. Are we on the verge of a new world order where the most powerful nations can put aside the rules that no longer suit them?