International law and the use of force by states

Abstract

The United Nations Charter sets out the general prohibition for States not to use force against the 'territorial integrity' and 'political independence' of States. This prohibition created a great deal of difficulty when it came to its interpretation. Some supported the strict prohibition of the use of force while others were more willing to widen its interpretation to include other situation such as humanitarian intervention, peacekeeping, self determination of peoples and other recent issues such as weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. However such interpretation must always be in line with the two exceptions to the general rule set out in the UN Charter namely that of selfdefence set out in Article 51 and Chapter VII of the same charter which gives the authority to the Security Council to determine the existence of any threat to peace, breach of peace and act of aggression and to decide which measure should be taken according to the Charter. This thesis will examine and evaluate the way in which a strict general rule developed through its vast interpretation by the Security Council, State practice and the International Court of Justice to provide for new challenges in the current international community.