THE USE OF FORCE: INTERNATIONAL LAW AFTER IRAQ

In: The international & comparative law quarterly: ICLQ, Band 53, Heft 4, S. 785-806

Abstract

Debates surrounding the second Iraq war have prompted a range of commentators to diagnose the death of the law on the use of force, to call for its adaptation to the globalization of threats and the problem of so-called failed States, or to assert the need to defend the UN Charter framework. In this article, we look behind the shrill rhetoric of the post-invasion commentary and invite a sober assessment of the current situation. Our aim is not to evaluate in detail the legality of the Iraq war. Others have done so thoroughly.1Rather, we are interested in exploring whether we are truly at a turning point for international norms and institutions governing the use of force. If we do confront a 'fork in the road', as suggested by Kofi Annan in his address to the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2003,2what changes to legal institutions and structures are required, and what new claims should we resist?