Necessity, Proportionality and the Use of Force by States

Description

There has been considerable debate in the international community as to the legality of the forceful actions in Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq in 2003 under the United Nations Charter. There has been consensus, however, that the use of force in all these situations had to be both proportional and necessary. Against the background of these recent armed conflicts, this 2004 book offers the first comprehensive assessment of the twin requirements of proportionality and necessity as legal restraints on the forceful actions of States. It also provides a much-needed examination of the relationship between proportionality in the law on the use of force and international humanitarian law.

"Necessity, Proportionality and the Use of Force by States is essential reading for anyone concerned with the international law on the use of force. It provides detailed analysis not found elsewhere on two of the most important use of force principles in the canon, necessity and proportionality." - Mary Ellen O'Connel, Notre Dame Law School, The American Journal of International Law