Search: self-defense
08 May Charlie Dunlap’s Defence of Israel’s Attacks on Hezbollah in Syria
...Israel’s attacks “may simply reflect that the bulk of the international community finds that the use of force under these circumstances is an acceptable act in anticipatory self-defense.” He cites only two states in defence of the idea that the “international community” accepts this type of anticipatory self-defence: the US and the UK. Needless to say, two Global North states known for their aggressive interpretation of the jus ad bellum do not an “international community” make. Moreover, Charlie fails to acknowledge the repeated denunciations of anticipatory self-defence by the Non-Aligned...20 Apr Why Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention Is Illegal and Potentially Criminal
...ISIS or the Assad regime, IL does not prohibit you from doing so. It doesn't follow that States may use force against other States to help persons exercise their right of personal self-defense. According to the UN Charter, States may use force against other States only in national self-defense, individual or collective, “if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations.” Of course, we could change international law to permit States to use force against other States in defense of persons as well as in defense of...05 Feb White Paper
self defense recognized in international law.”) (p.2) So perhaps the idea is that whatever Article II power the President has under the Constitution, it extends only so far as (or is co-extensive with) a state’s ability to use force in self-defense under international law. Ok, so Article 51 (which the paper does not quote) says: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary...15 Jan Armed Conflict With Al Qaida: A Reply
...refuse to cooperate with the United States as much as they would if the United States had adopted (and complied with) a broad interpretation? The U.S. has adopted a narrow interpretation a hair’s breadth away from the null interpretation. John says, “A state acting in self-defense must comply with the UN Charter and fundamental law of war principles.” On the American position, the U.S. is complying with the UN Charter because that document allows it to go to war, in self-defense, against a non-state entity; so no constraint there. As...
13 Nov Symposium on Erin Pobjie’s Prohibited Force: Scoping out the Prohibition on the Use of Force in Anomalous Situations
...challenge is trying to delineate the contours of what sort of force is permitted in self-defence. I consider the correct interpretation of the rule prohibiting force demands that acts of self-defence have to be judged against what is proportionate in the circumstances at the time, rather than the idea that once an attack has occurred a state is entitled to use force until it has achieved some sort of victory. The need to take seriously the prohibition on unnecessary and disproportionate force in self-defence has never been more urgent. Self-defence...
17 Jun Prosecuting Aggression against Ukraine as an “Other Inhumane Act” before the ICC Part I: Prospects
...invasion, understood as the military activities encompassing the acts listed under Article 8bis (2)(a)-(d), these requirements appear to be met. As argued below, it is possible to consider this unlawful use of force: (1) to be in violation of the right to self-determination; (2) to bear similar gravity and nature as the acts under Article 7(1)(a)-(j); and (3) to have resulted in great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental/physical health. The Right to Self- Determination The right to self-determination, enshrined in multiple covenants (UN Charter, Art.1(2),...
25 Apr The Violations of Sovereignty and the Right to Self-Determination in Rojava and Ukraine
or ethnic criteria, given the lack of a permanent or standard definition for the term people. Varying uneven responses in self-determination contexts such as Rojava, the Kurdistan Region, Donetsk and Luhansk, have advanced some cases for self-determination while also setting back others, including the Kurdish people. As a matter of international practice, not all peoples are entitled to exercise self-determination as some peoples’ de facto nationhood is deemed less legitimate than that of others. Self-determination is still in practice a Eurocentric concept, whereas in the Middle East self-determination has remained...16 Jan Armed Conflict With Al Qaida: A Response
...acts by private actors (as opposed to acts by state militaries) could trigger a right of self-defense where the government of the host state was unable or unwilling to take action; and, second, whether the threat posed by those private actors satisfied the conditions of necessity, proportionality and immediacy so that the British action would be justified. But there was no question that the acts of private actors could trigger the right of self-defense where the host government was unable or unwilling to deal with the situation. Secretary Webster may...09 Apr One Possible Defense Against Piracy: Self-Help
show up unless the pirates shoot first. Nor are they willing to try them, or punish them, given various legal protections that the pirates now enjoy under international law and the U.S. constitutional defenses they can probably raise against a U.S. prosecution (gotta love that Boumediene case, just gotta love it). Self-help might actually be the most effective measure, although I’d have to think about what legal rules of engagement would apply to a merchant mariner shooting at a pirate. Ironically, the merchant mariner (acting in self-defense) is probably legally...23 Feb The Ethics of Defending Hitler
...to provide him with a zealous defense. A defense attorney does not have to like his client to provide him with a zealous defense. But a defense attorney cannot provide his client with a zealous defense unless he is is capable of reconciling himself to the possibility that his efforts might lead to his client being acquitted. The ability to accept that possibility is, I believe, the sine qua non of effective representation. It is not enough for a defense attorney to have an abstract commitment to the idea that...