This morning, Israel launched a major military operation against Iran targeting its nuclear programme, including facilities, individual scientists and military leadership. In this post, I will provide a quick, preliminary analysis of the legality of Israel’s use of force against Iran as a matter of the jus ad bellum. As I will explain, Israel’s use of force against Iran is, on the facts as we know them, almost certainly illegal. The only justification that Israel can provide for its use of force is self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter – using force to repel an armed attack, subject to the criteria of necessity and proportionality. The first point to clarify here is that the nature and stated goals of Israel’s use of force – damaging Iran’s nuclear programme and preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon that could be used against Israel – are explicitly about deflecting a future armed attack by Iran against Israel, i.e. an attack that is yet to occur. In other words, this is not a…
Armed Conflict
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Regulating Private Military and Security Companies: What’s in it for States?
Private military and security companies (PMSCs) are expanding like wildfire across the world, diversifying clients and operations. They offer services ranging from protection and training to direct participation in hostilities, arms dealing, and humanitarian evacuations. Their impact on human rights—particularly on civilians, women, children, and migrants—as well as on the environment, has been…
Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law: Author’s Response
Editor's note: This post is part of a book discussion on Alexander Wentker’s “Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law". I am very grateful to Marko, Ashley, Philippa, and Paul for their thoughtful contributions. I greatly appreciate their thorough engagement with my work. To conclude the symposium, I will react to a few key…
Party Status to Armed Conflict
Editor's note: This post is part of a book discussion on Alexander Wentker’s “Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law". The following comments are offered from the perspective of a government lawyer but very much on a personal basis; they do not necessarily represent the views of the UK Government. The relationship…
Co-Party Status to Armed Conflict and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence
Editor's note: This post is part of a book discussion on Alexander Wentker’s “Party Status to Armed Conflict in International Law". I explore in this post how the use of AI-based Decision Support Systems (AI-DSS) could disrupt the three criteria developed by Alexander Wentker for identifying co-parties to an armed conflict. I first set out…
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