War, Aggression and Self-Defence, 4th Edition

377 Pages·2005·3.77 MB·English

by  Yoram Dinstein

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War, Aggression and Self-Defence
Yoram Dinstein’s seminal textbook is an essential guide to the legal
issues of war and peace, armed attack, self-defence and enforcement
measures taken under the aegis of the Security Council. This fourth
editionincorporatesnewmaterialonthewarsinAfghanistanandIraq,
response to armed attacks by terrorists, recent resolutions adopted by
theSecurityCouncilandthelatestpronouncementsoftheInternational
CourtofJustice.Inaddition,severalnewsectionsconsiderconsentby
States to the use of force (as expressed either ad hoc or by treaty); an
armedattackbynon-Stateactors;thevariousphasesintheGulfWarup
to the occupation of Iraq in 2003 and beyond; and immunities from
jurisdiction. With many segments rewritten to reflect recent State
practice,thisbookremainsacomprehensiveandhighlyreadableintro-
ductiontothelegalissuessurroundingwarandself-defence.Anindis-
pensabletoolforstudentsandpractitioners.
DR YORAM DINSTEIN istheYanowicz Professor ofHuman Rightsat
TelAvivUniversity.OtherpostshehasheldincludeStocktonProfessor
of International Law at the US Naval War College (Newport) and
Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for International Law,
Heidelberg. He has written extensively on the law of war, including a
companionvolumetothisbook,TheConductofHostilitiesundertheLaw
ofInternationalArmedConflict(CambridgeUniversityPress,2004).

War, Aggression and
Self-Defence
Yoram Dinstein
Fourthedition
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Contents
Introductiontothefourthedition pagexi
Fromtheintroductiontothefirstedition xii
Tableofcases xiv
Tableoftreaties xvi
TableofSecurityCouncilandGeneralAssemblyresolutions xx
Listofabbreviations xxii
PartI Thelegalnatureofwar
1 Whatiswar? 3
A. Thedefinitionofwar 3
(a) Thenumerousmeaningsofwar 3
(b) AnanalysisofOppenheim’sdefinitionofwar 5
i. Inter-Stateandintra-Statewars 5
ii. Warinthetechnicalandinthematerialsense 9
iii. Totalwars,limitedwarsandincidents‘shortofwar’ 11
iv. Warasanasymmetricalphenomenon 14
(c) Aproposeddefinitionofwar 15
B. Statusmixtus 15
(a) Peacetimestatusmixtus 16
(b) Wartimestatusmixtus 18
C. Theregionofwar 19
(a) Theterritoriesofthepartiestotheconflict 20
(b) Thehighseasandtheexclusiveeconomiczone 22
(c) Outerspace 24
D. Neutrality 24
(a) Thebasicprinciples 24
(b) Someconcreterules 25
i. Passageofbelligerentmilitaryunitsandwarmaterials 26
ii. Enrolmentinbelligerentarmedforces 26
iii. Militarysuppliestobelligerents 27
2 Thecourseofwar 30
A. Thebeginningofwar 30
(a) Warinthetechnicalsense 30
(b) Warinthematerialsense 33
v
vi Contents
B. Theterminationofwar 34
(a) Treatiesofpeace 34
i. Thesignificanceofatreatyofpeace 34
ii. Peacepreliminaries 39
iii. Thelegalvalidityofatreatyofpeace 39
(b) Armisticeagreements 42
(c) Othermodesofterminatingwar 47
i. Impliedmutualconsent 47
ii. Debellatio 48
iii. Unilateraldeclaration 49
C. Thesuspensionofhostilities 50
(a) Differenttypesofsuspensionofhostilities 50
i. Localcease-fireagreement 51
ii. Generalcease-fireagreement 51
iii. Cease-fireorderedbytheSecurityCouncil 52
(b) Thenatureofcease-fire 54
(c) Denunciationandbreachofcease-fire 56
PartII Theillegalityofwar
3 Ahistoricalperspectiveofthelegalstatusofwar 63
A. The‘justwar’doctrineinthepast 63
(a) TheRomanorigins 63
(b) Christiantheology 64
(c) The‘fathers’ofinternationallaw 65
B. Recentconceptsof‘justwar’ 67
(a) Kelsen’stheory 67
(b) ‘Warsofnationalliberation’ 68
(c) ‘Humanitarianintervention’ 70
C. Theextra-legalityofwar 73
D. Thelegalityofwar 75
E. Exceptionstothegenerallibertytogotowar 77
(a) Specialarrangements 77
(b) TheHagueConventions 79
(c) TheCovenantoftheLeagueofNations 80
4 Thecontemporaryprohibitionoftheuseof
inter-Stateforce 83
A. TheKellogg–BriandPact 83
B. TheCharteroftheUnitedNations 85
(a) Theprohibitionoftheuseofinter-Stateforce 85
(b) Attemptstolimitthescopeoftheprohibition 88
C. Customaryinternationallaw 91
(a) Thegeneralprohibitionoftheuseofinter-Stateforce 91
(b) Therelationshipbetweencustomaryandtreatylaw 95
D. TreatiesotherthanthePactandtheCharter 97
E. Theprohibitionoftheuseofinter-Stateforceasjuscogens 99
(a) Thesignificanceofjuscogens 99
(b) Howcanjuscogensbemodified? 102
Contents vii
F. Stateresponsibility 104
(a) ApplicationofgeneralrulesofStateresponsibility 104
(b) Stateresponsibilityforinternationalcrimes 108
G. Consent 112
(a) Adhocconsent 112
(b) Consentbytreaty 115
5 Thecriminalityofwarofaggression 117
A. Warofaggressionasacrimeagainstpeace 117
B. Thedefinitionofaggression 125
C. Individualresponsibilityforcrimesagainstpeace 131
(a) Thescopeofthecrimes 131
i. Rationemateriae 131
ii. Ratione personae 133
iii. Rationetemporis 134
(b) Mensrea 136
(c) Inadmissibledefencepleas 140
(d) Thepenalproceedings 144
(e) Immunitiesfromjurisdiction 146
6 Controversialconsequencesofthechangeinthe
legalstatusofwar 151
A. Warinthetechnicalsense 152
B. Inconclusive‘policeaction’ 153
C. Equalapplicationofthejusinbello 156
(a) Self-defence 156
(b) Collectivesecurity 162
D. Impartialneutrality 163
E. Territorialchanges 168
PartIII Exceptionstotheprohibitionoftheuseof
inter-Stateforce
7 Theconceptofself-defence 175
A. Therightofself-defence 175
(a) Themeaningofself-defence 175
(b) Self-defenceasaright 178
(c) Self-defenceasan‘inherent’right 179
B. Self-defenceasaresponsetoanarmedattack 182
(a) Armedattackandpreventivewar 182
(b) Thenatureandscopeofanarmedattack 187
(aa) AnarmedattackbyaState 187
i. Thebeginningofanarmedattackand
interceptiveself-defence 187
ii. Asmall-scalearmedattack 193
iii. Thelocaleofanarmedattack 196
iv. Thetargetofanarmedattack 199
v. Supportofarmedbandsandterrorists 201
(bb) Anarmedattackbynon-Stateactors 204
viii Contents
C. Conditionsprecedenttotheexerciseofself-defence 208
D. TheroleoftheSecurityCouncil 211
(a) Thetwophasesrule 211
(b) TheoptionsbeforetheSecurityCouncil 213
(c) FailuretoreporttotheSecurityCouncil 216
8 Themodalityofindividualself-defence 219
A. Self-defenceinresponsetoanarmedattackbyaState 219
(a) Measures‘shortofwar’ 219
i. On-the-spotreaction 219
ii. Defensivearmedreprisals 221
iii. Theprotectionofnationalsabroad 231
(b) War 235
i. Necessity 237
ii. Proportionality 237
iii. Immediacy 242
B. Self-defenceinresponsetoanarmedattackfromaState 244
(a) Extra-territoriallawenforcement 244
(b) ThepracticeofStates 247
(c) Webster’sformula 249
9 Collectiveself-defence 252
A. Themeaningofcollectiveself-defence 252
B. Collectiveself-defencetreaties 256
(a) Mutualassistancetreaties 257
(b) Militaryalliances 260
(c) Treatiesofguarantee 263
C. Thelegallimitationsofcollectiveself-defence 267
(a) TheprimacyoftheCharteroftheUnitedNations 267
(b) Therequirementofanarmedattack 268
(c) Otherconditionsfortheexerciseofcollectiveself-defence 270
D. Themodalityofcollectiveself-defence 271
E. TheGulfWarandcollectiveself-defence 273
10 Collectivesecurity 278
A. Themeaningofcollectivesecurity 278
(a) Definition 278
(b) TheCovenantoftheLeagueofNations 278
(c) TheCharteroftheUnitedNations 279
(d) ThediscretionoftheSecurityCouncil 283
B. Thedecision-makingprocess 289
(a) ThedutiesincumbentonUNMemberStates 289
(b) TheresponsibilityoftheSecurityCouncil 290
C. AnoverviewoftheSecurityCouncil’srecord 292
(a) The‘ColdWar’era 292
(b) TheGulfWar 294
i. TheinvasionandliberationofKuwait(1990–1) 294
ii. Thecease-fireperiod(1991–2003) 296
iii. TheoccupationofIraq(2003) 297
(c) Thepost-‘ColdWar’era(otherthantheGulfWar) 300