Anticipatory Action in Self-Defence, 2011 Essence and Limits under International Law

1. Introduction.-

Part I: Pre-Charter Customary Law on Self-Defence.

2 Self-defence in ancient and medieval natural law.

3 Self-defence as a measure short of war.         

4 Self-defence as an exception to the prohibition of war.          

5 The right of self-defence and the drafting of the UN Charter.

6 The temporal dimension of self-defence at the time of the Charter.-

Part II: Post-Charter Customary Law on Self-Defence.

7 The right of self-defence in the Judgments of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals.

8 Self-defence in state-to-state conflicts.

9 Self-defence and weapons of mass destruction.

10 Self-defence against non-state actors.

11 The interpretation of self-defence and the United Nations.

12 The temporal dimension of post-Charter self-defence.-

Part III: Anticipatory Action in Self-Defence and International Customary Law.

13 The legality of anticipatory action in self-defence.

14 The limits of anticipatory action in self-defence.

Comprehensive, historical and legal analysis on preemptive strikes.

Focus on temporal dimension and anticipatory aspect of self-defence.

Incorporates essence and limits of preemptive strikes into accessible formula.

Compares the temporal issue in cases such as the Cuban missile crisis (1962), the Israeli bombing of the Osirak reactor (1981) and the US war against Iraq (2003).