The Oxford Handbook of the Use of Force in International Law
Marc Weller, Jake William Rylatt - Oxford University Press, 2017
The
prohibition of the use of force in international law is one of the
major achievements of international law in the past century. The attempt
to outlaw war as a means of national policy and to establish a system
of collective security after both World Wars resulted in the creation of
the United Nations Charter, which remains a principal point of
reference for the law on the use of force to this day. There have,
however, been considerable challenges to the law on the prohibition
ofThe prohibition of the use of force in international law is one of the
major achievements of international law in the past century. The
attempt to outlaw war as a means of national policy and to establish a
system of collective security after both World Wars resulted in the
creation of the United Nations Charter, which remains a principal point
of reference for the law on the use of force to this day. There have,
however, been considerable challenges to the law on the prohibition of
the use of force over the past two decades. This Oxford Handbook is a
comprehensive and authoritative study of the modern law on the use of
force. Over seventy experts in the field offer a detailed analysis, and
to an extent a restatement, of the law in this area. The Handbook
reviews the status of the law on the use of force, and assesses what
changes, if any, have occurred in consequence to recent developments. It
offers cutting-edge and up-to-date scholarship on all major aspects of
the prohibition of the use of force. The work is set in context by an
extensive introductory section, reviewing the history of the subject,
recent challenges, and addressing major conceptual approaches. Its
second part addresses collective security, in particular the law and
practice of the United Nations organs, and of regional organizations and
arrangements. It then considers the substance of the prohibition of the
use of force, and of the right to self-defence and associated
doctrines. The next section is devoted to armed action undertaken on
behalf of peoples and populations. This includes self-determination
conflicts, resistance to armed occupation, and forcible humanitarian and
pro-democratic action. The possibility of the revival of classical,
expansive justifications for the use of force is then addressed. This is
matched by a final section considering new security challenges and the
emerging law in relation to them. Finally, the key arguments developed
in the book are tied together in a substantive conclusion. The Handbook
will be essential reading for scholars and students of international law
and the use of force, and legal advisers to both government and NGOs.
