THE USE OF FORCE IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

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THE USE OF FORCE IN THE

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

From the beginning of time, conflict between individuals has been the primary reason for the rule of law, rather than that of an arbitrary nature. The statement made by Cassese above refers to both a charter created by states to control the use of force in inter-state relations, and a corresponding customary law. When treaties similar to the United Nations Charter (henceforth UNCH) are created by a number of contracting parties, customary law exists along side it. Although, treaties are only binding on contracting parties, customary law is binding on all states unless regional custom or persistent objections show the contrary. 1

Hugo Grotius, the 'father' of international law in the seventeenth century stated that '[I]t be lawful to kill him who is preparing to kill'.2 If the words used by Grotius were evaluated then one would realise that the use of force is to be at all costs the last resort. At a certain stage during the development of international rules, States were permitted to resort to war, or to use force short of war in order to achieve their aims.3 This is both a prominent