Search: self-defense
29 Jan Elongated Imminence and Operational Realities
...concept of self-defense based on its use in the Caroline standard. Since the adoption of the UN Charter there has been debate about whether the “inherent right” of self-defense contained in Article 51 is broader or narrower than the Caroline standard. While that question has not been definitively settled, it is fair to say that if Israel’s action in the 1967 war was justified by Article 51 (something that most states, if not most scholars, seem to agree with), then Article 51 “imminence” is broader than Caroline “imminence”. If for...28 Apr Is a Use of Force the same as an Armed Attack in Cyberspace?
...to trigger an Article 51 right of self-defense. Although I’d always understood that simply because something constituted a use of force, that didn’t mean that it rose to the level of an armed attack for self-defense purposes. In other words, there is a gap between armed attack and force. But at least one US government lawyer suggested at this conference that there is no such gap in cyberspace, and that this may even be the official US Government position for cyberspace. I’d be interested in what readers make of this...16 Apr Defense Perspectives on Law and Politics in International Criminal Trials — A Response
“has led to some positive developments for the defense.” She does not cite to any statements by defense attorneys here, and for good reason: I doubt that any of the attorneys she surveyed share her opinion. Trimmed indictments, (a bit) less cumulative evidence, and speedier trials only marginally benefit the defense, and those benefits are vastly outweighed by the costs that Jenia mentions, particularly limits on the defendant’s right to confront witnesses and to prepare an effective defense. Moreover, Jenia fails to mention the Completion Strategy’s most significant cost: the...
08 Nov The Chapultepechian De-Grotianization of Jus ad Bellum
The latter would trigger self-defense, while the former only peaceful settlement mechanisms. This way, the US would not be able to invoke self-defense to unilaterally intervene in Latin America. The US opposed to this so much that its State Secretary himself decided to go straight to the Venezuelan Foreign Minister’s hotel room and try to change his mind. Venezuelan Minister Morales told him that a distinction was necessary because it is not as easy to determine who is the aggressor in intra-continental conflicts as it is in extra-continental ones. In...
23 Oct Research Services of German Bundestag Rejects Turkey’s Syria Invasion: Illegal, but Who Cares?
the rescue of migrants at sea, the prohibition of Nazi symbols, or international prosecution of German ISIS affiliates. The opinion starts with emphasizing the similarities between “Operation Peace Spring” and Turkey’s previous invasion in Afrin (the research services also issued numerous opinions on this subject-matter). On this basis, it (again) addresses the validity of self-defense against non-state actors and Turkey’s reference to the 1998 Adana agreement with Syria. Self-defense against quasi-de-facto-regimes permissible The PYD/YPG has successfully consolidated itself in what they call Rojava already in the early phase of the Syria war. Their autonomy...13 Apr What About Congress? The Washington Post Endorses Inherent Executive Power to Use Military Force
reason to believe there will be someone left alive to fight the ensuing war, the War Powers Act explicitly grants the President the power to use military force in self defense for a limited period of time. Then he must consult with Congress and get further approval. However, in the quoted paraphrase of the Koh remarks, there is nothing to suggest the paper was endorsing an independent power of the President. "Self defense" is a justification for the use of military force by the entire US government and not one...
20 Jan Soleimani and Targeted Killings of Enemy Combatants – Part II: “Geneva Law” versus “Hague Law”
...could only target military objects or soldiers already threatening the lives of others but not those about to be deployed to the battlefield at a later stage. Excluding the very first shot from the application of international humanitarian law becomes even more problematic in situations of pre-emptive self-defense. After all, one would have to extend the restrictive imminence-standard under human rights law to the right to self-defense. Only then it would be ensured that action taken in self-defense also conforms to human rights law et vice versa. Otherwise, the defending...22 Dec Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission Finds Eritrean Liability for Start of Conflict
...act of self-defense should be proportional to the attack and that some skirmishes are of such a minimal security threat as to not require any response beyond the fighting of the skirmish itself. I am curious to see if this is a point on which other commentators will focus. (The Commission also noted that Eritrea never invoked Article 51 or notified the Security Council of its acts as self-defense until the Commission hearing.) The Commission then walked through the facts leading up to the Eritrean incursion into Ethiopia and reiterated...04 May More from O’Connell on bin Laden Killing as Peacetime Use of Force
...self-defense in more recent years and somewhat significantly in law enforcement. In this vision, the SEAL in the room would be principally trained and operating in a law of war or self-defense vision which would make this a lawful kill while the actual mission that the CIA was putting them into would be construed as a law enforcement mission with its more restrictive rules. In other words, the CIA plays the Defense department types in this game by having the people doing the kill come from a legal training tradition...