| The current dispute over Iran's nuclear programme has triggered, and indeed been aggravated by, reports of planned military strikes against both its nuclear and military installations. This paper considers the legality of an armed attack. It examines whether military intervention could be justified under the UN Charter as an exception to Article 2(4)'s general prohibition on the use of force i.e. as where authorised by the Security Council or as an act of self-defence. The paper then considers if anticipatory or preventive self-defence could be lawfully applied. It discovers that even if anticipatory self-defence is lawful, the factual context does not lend itself to its application. In direct contrast, the facts at hand correlate with the operating criteria of preventive self-defence but the fact that it has not yet been absorbed into customary international law impedes its legal praxis. |
