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date: 16 January 2021

Abstract and Keywords

This chapter examines the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter) concerning the comprehensive ban on the use of force in international relations between states. It provides a legal definition of aggression and self-defence and addresses some unanswered questions concerning some of the alleged exceptions to the comprehensive ban on the use of force. It shows that the obligation not to resort to threat or use of force is not subordinated to the actual functioning of the UN collective security system and highlights the UN Charter’s establishment of substantive and institutional framework for making the prohibition on the use and threat of force between states a truly attainable goal.

Keywords: use of force, UN Charter, international relations, aggression, self-defence, collective security system, institutional framework

Giovanni Distefano

Giovanni Distefano is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Neuchâtel. He is also Visiting Professor at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

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