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The inherent right of self-defence in international law

Alder, M.C. (2013) The inherent right of self-defence in international law. Springer, Dordrecht.

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This book answers a question of international law the essence of which has been long debated, but unsatisfactorily reasoned, by scholars and states since 1945. That question is: What is the earliest point in time at which the law authorises the inherent right of self-defence to be exercised under the Charter of the United Nations 1945? This book takes an historic approach to answering this question by tracing the evolution of the legal rights, rules and principles of international law which have governed the use of force since the sixteenth century. Its emphasis on self-defence provides the reader with a new understanding of the following four interconnected features of the law in 1945 which is essential to answering the question asked by this book:

1. The origin, nature and legal scope of the inherent right of self-defence
2. The origin and nature of anticipatory self-defence
3. The importance of the functions fulfilled by the international customary law principles of immediacy and necessity
4. A definition of the legal commencement of an armed attack for the purpose of Article 51 of the Charter

Item Type: Book
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Law
Publisher: Springer
Copyright: Springer
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