The Responsibility to protect Libya: Legality and Legitimacy of NATO intervention

The recent intervention in Libya represents a tipping point in the humanitarian intervention debate and the responsibility of the international community to intervene in a sovereign state to protect populations from mass atrocities. This paper seeks to analyse the legitimacy and the legality of NATO's intervention in Libya in light of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. The objectives of this effort are to uncover the abuses of the responsibility to protect doctrine through this intervention by underlining the legal and moral inconsistencies in the coalition involvement in Libya. The dissertation will also highlight the main effect of the intervention in Libya on the future application of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine.