The quest for an internal Jus Ad Bellum : international law’s missing link, mere distraction, or pandora’s box?

In recent years, international law’s supposed “neutrality” toward rebellion has been challenged by authors who have argued for an ad bellum ban on the first resort to hostilities or, conversely, for an exceptional and conditional right of organized armed resistance for non-state actors only. This chapter revisits the proposed “internal jus ad bellum” models. The first section examines whether an additional ad bellum layer is needed in order to restrain government recourse to force against rebels and shares some thoughts as to whether adding an ad bellum prohibition on government recourse to force against rebels is moreover feasible. The second section deals with internal use of force against the state and scrutinizes the proposal to create a broader right of organized armed resistance at the ad bellum level. The concluding section explores the links between the proposed internal jus ad bellum, on the one hand, and the concept of recognition of belligerency and third-state intervention in non-international armed conflicts (NIACs), on the other hand.

ISBN:9780197537374

Publication year:2020

Accessibility:Open