The Nicaragua Judgement and the Use of Force – 30 Years Later

• Authors: Kwiecień Roman
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

In light of contemporary circumstances, on the 30th anniversary of the Nicaragua judgement it is worth revisiting and considering again certain legal problems decided by – and raised by – the ICJ judgement. This article addresses the importance of the judgement in terms of international legal regulations on the use of force. First and foremost, the article examines the concept of armed attack based on the “gravity” criterion elaborated by the Court and the exercise of the right of self-defence. Moreover, the relationship between customary international law and treaty law, as well as forcible counter-measures and military actions against non-State actors are also discussed in the article. It is argued that the “gravity” criterion used by the ICJ seems controversial and, consequently, may limit the right of self-defence. On the other hand, however, the judgement established a strong barrier to the realization of individual political interests by militarily powerful States. This is the Nicaragua judgement’s long-lasting legacy. In this sense the judgement has stood the test of time.

Keywords

EN

armed attack; counter-measures; customary international law; Nicaragua judgement; non-State actors; self-defence; UN Charter; use of force

• Publisher: Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN / Institute of Legal Studies PAN
• Journal: Polish Yearbook of International Law
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 36
• Pages: 21-36

Dates

published

2017-09-01

Contributors

author

Kwiecień Roman

• Faculty of Finance and Law, Cracow University of Economics

Identifiers

DOI

10.7420/pyil2016b