[Carsten Stahn is Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice at Leiden University and Programme Director of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Leiden Journal of International Law, Executive Editor of the Criminal Law Forum and project leader of the Jus Post Bellum Project.]
Harold Koh’s thought-provoking post on
Just Security on ‘
Syria and the Law of Humanitarian Intervention – Part II’ illustrates the struggles of international law to cope with injustices and violations of legal norms, including the ban of the prohibition of chemical weapons. Koh argues in favor of a new ‘affirmative defense to Article 2 (4)’ of the United Nations Charter which would allow the ‘lawful threat of limited military intervention’ to counter ‘a deliberate large-scale chemical weapons attack’. He regards Syria as a ‘lawmaking moment’ that should be used to clarify ‘the contours of an emerging exception to a rigid rule’. This argument is based on a number of claims and assumptions that merit reconsideration.
One may easily concur that the law on the use of force contains ‘grey zones’ and that Syria is a ‘hard case’. It is also helpful to set out arguments in ‘legal language that international lawyers’ can debate. But like others (e.g.
Kevin Heller and
David Kaye), I would argue that is highly questionable whether Syria should be a ‘moment to reframe international law’ in the direction suggested. It may rather be illustrative of the claim of a few to reshape the law in a way that might be seen as a window for abuse by others.
It is deplorable that the Council has been blocked over two years, due to an irresponsible use of prerogatives that are out of time. This has created a ‘vacuum of protection’. But the fundamental question is whether the solution suggested, i.e. greater flexibility towards military strikes under an ‘affirmative defense to Art. 2 (4)’ is the right remedy to deal with this dilemma. This is a very rudimentary logic. It appears to suggest that unilateral military action is the proper remedy to overcome impasses and inaction by the Council. His argument contains a number of problems that require reconsideration: (i) the framing of the choice, (ii) the use of the label of ‘humanitarian intervention’, (iii) the nature of the proposed ‘defense’ for the use of armed force, and (iv) the approach towards ‘lawmaking’.
1. Framing the underlying choice
The first problem with Koh’s argument that is that it is phrased in a binary ‘either’/’or’ logic. Koh suggests that there is a choice between ‘turning a blind eye (and a deaf ear) to violations’ and the use of military force. Koh presents intervention as a lesser of two evils. This is a constructed choice. Hardly anyone would seriously suggest that doing nothing is an option in the face of a violation, such as the 21 August 2013 attack on civilians. The question is not so much whether to respond, but rather
how to react. The solution suggested by Koh, i.e. remedying a violation through use of force, blurs fundamental categories of law.
The primary norm breached in the Syrian context is a fundamental norm of international law that is prohibited under different bodies of law, including international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Koh’s logic suggests that use of the force should be an
ultima ratio option to respond to such types of violations. This assumption merits questioning. In his case for deviation from the ‘illegality’ rule, Koh mixes different rationales that require different response schemes. His argument builds a case for military action based on a merger of different objectives: i.e. ‘remedying a humanitarian situation’, preventing ‘the likelihood of future atrocities’, achieving accountability for ‘crimes’, sanctioning the use of chemical weapons, preserving of peace and security. These objectives are all valid and important. But is questionable whether they can be achieved best through a broadening of the options for military force.
International law offers alternative paths to the use of force to achieve rationales, such as accountability, deterrence or sanctioning of
jus in bello violations, i.e. preventive diplomacy, lawful
countermeasures, international criminal justice, sanctions etc. Broadening the categories of the use of forces has trade-offs. It weakens these options and their underlying regimes (e.g. non-coercive and non-violent response measures under Chapters VI and VIII of the Charter, mechanisms under
R2P etc.). It carries the risk of remedying wrongs through means that are ill-equipped to meet the very goals of intervention. In light of these risks, many nations (e.g.,
G77) have remained reluctant to accept the doctrine of ‘humanitarian ‘intervention’.
Introducing a new ‘affirmative defense’ for military strikes based on Syria crisis would be an open floodgate for other claims. Acceptance of this argument might serve as an incentive for further action outside collective security in other cases involving a threat to international peace and security. For instance, why would other nations be prevented from claiming a similar justification to use force in response to specific incidents or ‘acts of international terrorism’ that have been branded as a threat to international peace and security as such under
Resolution 1373 (2001)? Such an approach is vulnerable to abuse and might have detrimental side-effects. It might make the Security Council even more reluctant in the future to engage with threats to international peace and security. A better way forward might be to work towards a more responsible use of veto powers in the future (i.e. understandings on the non-use of the veto in specific situations), rather than declaring the Council irrelevant, as
done at the height of the Syria crisis.
2. The label of ‘humanitarian intervention’
The second problem with Koh’s argument is that it uses the label of ‘humanitarian intervention’ to justify the claim for the legality of the threat or use of force. Arguments supporting ‘humanitarian intervention’ reach indeed far back in history. But the weakness of Koh’s reasoning is that assumes that Syria falls squarely under that doctrine and that it may be treated in one historical line with incidents such as Kosovo, Srebrenica etc. This is questionable. This analogy hinges. There are fundamental differences.
