Original scientific paper
„The war against terrorism“ - a new Bellum Iustum?
Davorin Lapaš
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The paper deals with the problem of the so-called “war against terrorism” in the context of the traditional concept of “just war” (bellum iustum), a concept believed to belong to the history of international law. Thus, the paper analyses, through the works of various authors, how the theoretical concept of just war evolved over the centuries. On the other hand, nowadays, i.e. after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, the use of the word “war” seems to be omnipresent in political declarations, in world media, and even in the writings of some legal commentators, when referring to the unilateral use of force by some States, targeted not only at terrorist organizations (e.g. Al-Qaida) and their members, but also at States “accused” to support terrorism. However, in contemporary international law there is no legal basis for the unilateral use of force, except in self-defense. For that reason, the just war doctrine is sometimes used as a meta-juridical basis for such action.
Keywords
“war against terrorism”; “just war” (bellum iustum); terrorism; terrorist organizations; United Nations; use of force
Hrčak ID:
35593
URI
Publication date:
16.4.2008.
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