The Falklands/Malvinas War - 1982

Abstract

This contribution discusses the application of jus contra bellum in the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict. After briefly setting out the relevant facts, it provides a summary of the positions of the main protagonists of the conflict as well as the UN Security Council and General Assembly and other member States, both on the initial invasion of the archipelago by Argentina and on the ensuing measures of self-defence adopted by the United Kingdom. It then assesses the legal issues raised by the application of Article 2(3) and 2(4) of the UN Charter — including with regard to the alleged exception for recourses to military force aimed at the recovery of pre-colonial titles and the thesis of the exhaustion of the obligation to settle international disputes peacefully — and Article 51 of the UN Charter — with particular attention to the relationship between collective security and the exercise of the right of self-defence and the effect of the cessation of hostilities ordered by UN Security Council Resolution 502 (1982) on the exercise of the right by the United Kingdom. Finally, the contribution evaluates the precedential impact of the case on the jus contra bellum regime.