Self Defense In Islamic And International Law

The book argues that the concept of self-defense in Islamic and International law is compatible. Al-Qaeda's declaration of Jihad does not meet the Islamic legal test. Similarly, the invasion of Iraq does meet the international legal test.

Self-defense and the right to go to war. Originally published: New York: Praeger, [1958]. xv, 294 pp. Bowett observes that the use or threat of force by any state can be a delict, an approved sanction, or a measure taken in self-defense. He examines the evolution of self-defense doctrine in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, with the assumption of the existence of a state's unlimited 'right' to go to war. He then attempts to outline the limited and provisional effects of this right under the U.N. Charter. This book was written after Bowett's term as a United Nations legal officer from 1957-1959. "Throughout the work there is a refusal to dogmatize or to state in absolute terms any aspect of the 'privilege' of self-defence in its present context. (...) [Bowett] is to be congratulated on producing a timely and scholarly survey of one of the most fundamental, and often abused, sovereign rights known to international law." --K.R. Simmonds, British Year Book of International Law 34 (1958) 432. SIR DEREK WILLIAM BOWETT [1927-2009], an international lawyer, was President of Queens' College, Cambridge from 1969-1982 and Whewell Professor of International Law, Cambridge, from 1981-1991. He was awarded a CBE in 1983 and a knighthood in 1998. He is the author of The Law of International Institutions (1963), United Nations Forces: A Legal Study (1964), The Law of the Sea (1967), The Search for Peace (1972) and The International Court of Justice (1996).

Based on author's thesis (doctoral - European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, 2016) issued under title: The right to personal self-defence as a general principle of law and its general application in international human rights law --Verso of title page.

While the system of international law is improving enormously and certain legal provisions are becoming an integral part of jus cogens norms, this body of law must be studied together with other systems which have basically been effective in its development. The principles of the rule of law must be evaluated collectively rather than selectively. In fact, most Islamic nations have ratified the ICC Statute. They have thereby contributed to the establishment of the pillars of morality, equality, peace and justice. At the same time, those pillars may be strengthened by means of an accurate interpretation of the principles of international criminal laws by all parties. The objective of these comparative philosophies is to examine their core principles, similarities and differences. The intention is to indicate that the variation in theories may not obstruct the legal implementation of international criminal law if their dimensions are judged objectively and with the noblest of motives towards mankind.

The book provides a broad and interdisciplinary approach to the doctrine of self-defence in both domestic criminal and international law. In particular it focuses on the requirement of imminence, which deals with the question of when individuals or States may legitimately resort to defensive force against a serious danger or harm. Drawing from scholarship across law, history, politics and philosophy, this book explores the permissibility of employing preventive force under the law of individual and national self-defence. The book illustrates how the law of international self-defence, and in particular the requirement of imminence, has been subjected to controversy in parallel with its domestic counterpart. In both disciplines the debate over imminence is centred on similar concerns, issues and tensions despite the fact the arguments put forward are designed to address different scenarios. The book surveys the roots, role, rationale, and objectives of self-defence and questions whether the requirement of imminence should be removed from the traditional contours of the self-defence doctrine in national and international law.

Yoram Dinstein's influential textbook is an indispensable 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 fifth edition incorporates recent treaties such as the Kampala amendments of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, new case law from the International Court of Justice and other tribunals, and contemporary doctrinal debates. Several new supplementary sections are also included, which take into account recent conflicts around the world, and consideration is given to new resolutions of the Security Council. With many segments having been rewritten to reflect recent State practice, this book remains a wide-ranging and highly readable introduction to the legal issues surrounding war and self-defence.

The book examines in detail one of the most controversial topic in current international law, namely the scope and extent of the right of individual self-defense. The book carefully traces the paths which have been followed in the developing legal debate on self-defense. The author uses numerous case-studies of incidents involving the use of force in alleged self-defense (such as the Entebbe Incident 1976, the Nicaragua Case 1986 or the Israeli-Lebanese conflict of 2006) which have formed the central point of scholarly debate. The author's conclusions are based not only on thorough analysis of academic discussions but also of the practice of States and international bodies, especially of the United Nations Organization. At the outset of the book the author reviews the historical context and the customary evolution of the right of self-defense. Reference is made to the famous Caroline Case of 1837, which set the necessary conditions of lawful exercise of self-defense. Next, the author examines the concept and legal nature of self-defense, carefully assessing the customary conditions of necessity, proportionality and immediacy derived from the Caroline Case. As the occurrence of an "armed attack" is a conditio sine qua non of lawful invocation of self-defense, several modalities of an armed attack are attentively evaluated such as its constituent elements, beginning or scale. The author explores, whether reactions to acts of international terrorism committed by a non-State may be based on the right of self-defense. In times of global terrorist networks it is highly desirable to attach special attention to use of force in self-defense as a remedy against serious acts of terrorism. Thorough analysis of State practice is shown on several examples from recent history - the U.S. air raid on Libya in 1986 and on Baghdad in 1993 and relatively recent air strikes on Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998. Reference is also made to the most striking example - the Al-Qaeda attack on the United States in 2001. The validity of claims of anticipatory/preventive self-defense is examined on a theoretical level and then applied to the specific details of the Israeli air strike on the Osiraq Nuclear Reactor in 1981. The two main approaches to preventive self-defense - "restrictive" and "traditional" - are then discussed in detail. Brief analysis is also devoted to the nature of the so-called - pre-emptive - self-defense indicating its current position under international law.