4 Self-defence: the framework

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gray Christine
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
General Framework ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
Collective Self ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Creation ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Right ◽  
Self Defence

This chapter discusses the general framework of the law of self-defence. The scope of the right of self-defence is the subject of the most fundamental disagreement between states and between writers. Some of the divisions over the scope of the right of self-defence, especially as to whether anticipatory self-defence against an imminent armed attack and the protection of nationals abroad are lawful, date back to the creation of the United Nations. Other divisions centre on the right to use force in self-defence in response to colonial occupation, to terrorist attacks, and to other attacks by non-state actors. This chapter also discusses the special regime of collective self-defence.

The invocation of the right to self-defence in response to armed attacks conducted by armed groups: Implications for attribution

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (01) ◽  
pp. 91-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika de Wet
Keyword(s):  
Due Diligence ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Right ◽  
United Nations Charter ◽  
Territorial States ◽  
Self Defence

AbstractThe right to self-defence in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter is increasingly being invoked in response to armed attacks conducted by armed groups located in a territory of another state, with or without the (direct) assistance of such a state. This article examines the implications of the invocation of the right to self-defence under these circumstances for the principles of attribution within thejus ad bellumparadigm. First, it illuminates how the threshold requirements for indirect armed attacks (that is, the state acting through a private actor) have been lowered since the 1986Nicaraguadecision of the International Court of Justice. In so doing, the article suggests that in order to prevent a complete erosion of the benchmarks of an indirect armed attack, the notions of ‘substantial involvement’ in an armed attack, ‘harbouring’, and ‘unwillingness’ should be interpreted as manifestations of due diligence. Thereafter, the article illustrates that there is also an increasing attribution of armed attacks directly to non-state actors, notably those located in areas over which territorial states have lost control. Such states could be depicted as being ‘unable’ to counter the activities of non-state actors. The article further submits that particularly in these instances, the principle of necessity within the self-defence paradigm can play an important role in curbing the potential for abuse inherent in the vague notion of ‘inability’, if interpreted in light of Article 25 of the Articles on State Responsibility for Internationally Wrongful Acts.

Anticipatory Self-Defence in the Legislative History of the United Nations Charter

1991 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy L. H. McCormack
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right ◽  
United Nations Charter ◽  
Self Defence

Article 51 of the United Nations Charter states that:Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of selfdefense shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.International lawyers are still arguing about the scope of the right of self-defence in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. Most of the arguments focus on the semantics of Article 51. Those who argue for a “restrictive view” of the provision emphasise the qualifying phrase “if an armed attack occurs”.

Ch.7 Decisions and Documents

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sievers Loraine ◽  
Daws Sam
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Sensitive Area ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
Member States ◽  
Collective Self ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
The Right ◽  
Self Defence

This chapter discusses the procedures for coming to a consensus within the Security Council and communicating the decision to the broader public. The term ‘decision’ within this context also carries multiple meanings, and when applied in its narrowest sense is used to denote only those decisions of the Council which are intended to be mandatory or binding, as opposed to recommendations, exhortations, or expressions of opinion. Communications also possesses multiple definitions under the Council, as it is a complex and politically sensitive area of the Security Council's practice. Written communications are a primary means by which UN Member States and non-Member States bring disputes or situations ‘to the attention of’ the Security Council or the General Assembly. Another category obligates Member States to report immediately to the Council on measures taken in the exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs.

Self-Defence in Response to Attacks by Non-state Actors in the Light of Recent State Practice: A Step Forward?

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAPHAËL VAN STEENBERGHE
Keyword(s):  
Use Of Force ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Operation Enduring Freedom ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
The Us ◽  
State Practice ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
Self Defence

AbstractThis article analyses the recent state practice in which the right of self-defence has been invoked in order to justify the use of force in response to attacks by non-state actors. The main purpose of this analysis is to determine whether the law of self-defence has evolved through this practice. It is submitted that the latter confirms the tendency, evidenced by the US operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ in Afghanistan in 2001, towards allowing states to respond in self-defence to private armed attacks, that is, attacks which are committed by non-state actors only. The article also aims to shed some light on other fundamental conditions of the law of self-defence which played a significant role in the legal assessment of the recent state practice. It is argued in this respect that this practice confirms that any armed attack must reach some level of gravity – which may be assessed by accumulating minor uses of force – in order to trigger the right of self-defence, and that proportionality of the action taken in self-defence may be assessed in quantitative terms, but only as a means of making a prima facie judgement about the necessity of this action.

scholarly journals Conditions for the lawful exercise of the right of self-defence in international law

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 01008
Author(s):  
V. Upeniece
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Normative Order ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Self Defence

The Charter of the United Nations wasthought to establish a normative order, maintain international peace and security. According to the Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs”[1]. However the Article 51 doesnot propose a legal definition of the conduct which is considered as an armed attack or the commencement of such an attack. It does not propose strict criterions for the use of force for self-defence. As a result different interpretations of this norm have been arising and continuing to change in response to new situations and threats.

scholarly journals Conditions for the legal commencement of an armed attack

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 01022
Author(s):  
Vita Upeniece
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
Collective Self ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Self Defence

The Charter of the United Nations provides that: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs…”. In certain cases, it is difficult to find a clear answer to the question – what action is recognised as an armed attack according to the Article 51 of the UN Charter. The aim of the research is to analyze this problematic question, as well as the issue – when an armed attack begins, and as a result of the analyses of these issues, to describe the conditions for the legal use of force for self-defence.

Unfulfilled Promise: Palestinian Family Reunification and the Right of Return

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Nabila El-Ahmed ◽  
Nadia Abu-Zahra
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Family Reunification ◽  
The State ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Successor State ◽  
Palestinian Refugees ◽  
Right Of Return ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Right

This article argues that Israel substituted the Palestinian refugees' internationally recognized right of return with a family reunification program during its maneuvering over admission at the United Nations following the creation of the state in May 1948. Israel was granted UN membership in 1949 on the understanding that it would have to comply with legal international requirements to ensure the return of a substantial number of the 750,000 Palestinians dispossessed in the process of establishing the Zionist state, as well as citizenship there as a successor state. However, once the coveted UN membership had been obtained, and armistice agreements signed with neighboring countries, Israel parlayed this commitment into the much vaguer family reunification program, which it proceeded to apply with Kafkaesque absurdity over the next fifty years. As a result, Palestinians made refugees first in 1948, and later in 1967, continue to be deprived of their legally recognized right to return to their homes and their homeland, and the family reunification program remains the unfulfilled promise of the early years of Israeli statehood.

11. Use of force

2021 ◽  
pp. 149-164
Author(s):  
Ilias Bantekas ◽  
Efthymios Papastavridis
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
Armed Force ◽  
Collective Security ◽  
Armed Attack ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Significant Achievement ◽  
Self Defence

This chapter examines under what circumstances States may use armed force under customary international law and Arts 2(4) and 51 UN Charter. After noting that the use of armed force is generally prohibited and only limited to self-defence, and then only if the target State is under an armed attack, we show that several States have expanded the notion of armed attack. Besides self-defence, the United Nations Security Council may authorize the use of armed force through a process of collective security. Several examples of collective security are offered, as well as the ICJ’s position on what constitutes an armed attack. In recent years, the range of actors capable of undertaking an armed attack has included terrorists. Moreover, the development of the doctrine of the responsibility to protect is a significant achievement.

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