Use Of Force, Prohibition Of

Abstract

Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter provides a comprehensive prohibition of the use of force. The prohibition of the use of force belongs to the fundamental provisions of modern public international law (International Law and the UN). In comparison with the League of Nations Covenant ( League of Nations) and the Briand-Kellogg Pact, Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter prohibits comprehensively the use of force or the threat of force. The USA notified in a letter to the UN Security Council on 7 October 2001 that their exercise of the right to self-defence might require further actions with regard to other organizations and other states (UN DOC. S/2001/946), which can be interpreted that they claimed at least an extended and also pre-emptive right to self-defense. The US-led war against Iraq in 2003 was the starting point for a debate on the use of force against dictatorships. Keywords: international law; League of Nations; UN Charter; UN Security Council; use of force