Abstract International water law has been witnessing profound changes in the latter twenty years. These changes denote certain cardinal options for new goals and values that the newer international water law is seeking to embrace. Amongst these new goals and values, the ones of environmentalization, humanisation, economicisation stand out as attempts at bringing efficient response to the challenges set by the current global water crisis and the more complex expectations of the international community. They amount to an innovative normative message and even true paradigmshifts in the understanding of international water law. These trends of development of international water law set this legal field in line with other chapters of contemporary international law and derive in part from the cross-fertilisation of normative ideas and principles between these chapters of international law.