Cornerstone to the prohibition of the resort to war – nowadays a principle of international law – is the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War or Kellogg Briand Pact (1928). This treaty entered into force at 24 July 1929 and is still in force and widely accepted. Although the League of Nations system did not prohibit war or the Use of Force but restricted it to tolerable levels, article 2(4) of the UN-Charter prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconstistent with the purposes of the United Nations.
In case of aggression by one nation-State against another, the United Nations Security Council is authorized under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to allow member states to take all necessary measures to maintain international peace and security.
Some examples of Use of Force short of war :
economic sanctions, boycott, pacific blockade, embargo, retorsion and reprisals.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on the Use of Force. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library’s classification index code 199. Causes of War; Its Lawfulness; Theory of Aggression and subject heading (keyword) Use of Force are instrumental for searching through the Catalogue.
Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
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Also available as Fulltext e-book inside Peace Palace Library
The prohibition of the use of force is one of the most crucial elements of the international legal order. Our understanding of that rule was both advanced and challenged during the period commencing with the termination of the Iran-Iraq war and the invasion of Kuwait, and concluding with the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The liberation of Kuwait, in particular, was seen by some as a powerful vindication of the prohibition of the use of force and of the UN Security Council. However, the operation was not really conducted in accordance with the requirements for collective security established in the UN Charter. In a second phase, an international coalition launched a humanitarian intervention operation, first in the north of Iraq, and subsequently in the south.
WELLER, M., 2011This book – an updated translation of the original French version Le droit contre la guerre (2008) by Pedone – presents an examination of the non-use of force in contemporary international law. Some authors, especially in recent years, have claimed that this field is undergoing an important metamorphosis as a result, in particular, of the requirements of the ‘war against terror.’ More specifically, some consider that the systematic prohibition laid down in the Charter of the United Nations (1945) should be made more flexible in the current context of international relations, allowing further development of new concepts, such as ‘humanitarian intervention’ and ‘preemptive war,’ or providing for the possibility of presumptive authorization by the Security Council in certain exceptional circumstances. This highly original work suggests that if any notable changes can be observed, especially in the past two decades, State practice shows that the Charter system is still based on a true jus contra bellum and not on the jus ad bellum characterizing previous periods. In this sense, as the title of the book suggests, ‘law against war’ is not only a literal translation of the Latin expression, but evokes, at the same time, the spirit of a rule which remains undoubtedly one of the bases of public international law.
CORTEN, O., 2010Dans l’ordre international contemporain, l’agression apparaît comme le crime le plus grave qui puisse être commis dans les relations entre Etats. C’est peut-être même le plus grave des crimes internationaux : non seulement il porte atteinte à l’existence-même de l’Etat victime et, ce faisant, aux principes essentiels du droit international, mais encore il est généralement à l’origine des autres crimes considérés comme les plus graves par la communauté internationale, en particulier le crime de guerre et le crime contre l’humanité. En ce sens, l’agression peut être considérée comme la mère de la plupart des crimes internationaux résultant de la violence de l’Etat.
KAMTO, M., 2010In 1986, the International Court of Justice issued its judgment on the merits in a dispute between Nicaragua and the United States of America. Twenty-five years later, members of the legal teams of both Nicaragua and the United States faced each other once again in the Peace Palace.
Read moreRussia always maintained that its intervention in Georgia was justified by the principle of “responsibility to protect” (R2P).
Russian President Medvedev, also supreme military commander, introduced an amendment to the Russian defense Law to allow Russian armed forces to intervene beyond Russian borders.
A U.N. inquiry accused Israel on Tuesday 5 May of gross negligence and recklessness in attacks on U.N. property in the Gaza strip during fighting between the Jewish state and Palestinian militants in January (see the article of Patrick Worsnip in Reuters).
An article of the Guardian by Ed Pilkington (New York) and Rory McCarthy in (Jerusalem) at Tuesday 5 May 2009 reports that: “The summary of the UN report, commissioned by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, censured the Israeli government for causing death, injuries and damage to UN property in seven incidents involving action by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).
Delicious links:
Iraq and the Use of Force in International Law / , 2011
L'agression en droit international / , 2010
The law against war : the prohibition on the use of force in contemporary international law / , 2010
International law and the use of force by states / , 1963
War, Aggression and Self-Defence / , 2011
International law and the use of force / , 2008
