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Prof. Natalino Ronzitti

Mr. Natalino Ronzitti
Professor of International Law
Libera Università degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli of Rome

Biography Biography in PDF
Peace and Security
Use of Force
Current Issues on the Prohibition of Use of Force in International Relations
The rule on the prohibition of the use of force in international relations, which has become a peremptory norm of international law, is still valid, notwithstanding the doubts raised by a handful of authors. Instead, it is the exceptions to the prohibition that are a matter of controversy. Article 51 of the UN Charter is still the object of contending interpretations and the doctrine is divided on the existence of other permissible exceptions to the prohibition on use of force. The case-law of the International Court of Justice now includes a number of judgments and advisory opinions which may help the interpreter to find the correct solution.

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(20/5/2008, 46 minutes)
Peace and Security
Use of Force
Current Issues on the Prohibition of Use of Force in International Relations
A. Legal Instruments

Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, Geneva, 13 December 1920, League of Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 6, p. 390.

General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970 (Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations).


B. Jurisprudence

International Court of Justice, Corfu Channel Case, Judgment of 9 April 1949, I.C.J. Reports 1949, p. 4.

International Court of Justice, Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Merits, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1986, p. 14.

International Court of Justice, Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 226.

International Court of Justice, Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2003, p. 161.

International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 2004, p. 136.

International Court of Justice, Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2005, p. 168.


C. Documents

General Assembly resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 14 December 1974 (Definition of Aggression).

General Assembly resolution 60/1 of 24 October 2005 (2005 World Summit Outcome)

Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission, Jus ad Bellum, Ethiopia’s Claims 1-8, Partial Award, 19 December 2005.

D. Doctrine

I. Brownlie, International Law and the Use of Force by States, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1963.

Y. Dinstein, War, Aggression and Self-Defence, 4th edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005.

M. Glennon, “The Collapse of Consent: Is a Legalistic Use-of-Force Regime Possible?”, in B.A. Simmons (ed.), International Law, vol. V, SAGE, London, 2008, pp. 220-248.

C. Gray, International Law and the Use of Force, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008.

N. Ronzitti, Rescuing Nationals Abroad through Military Coercion and Intervention on Grounds of Humanity, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, 1985.

N. Ronzitti, “The Report of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Changes, the Use of Force and the Reform of the United Nations”, Italian Yearbook of International Law, vol. XIV, 2004, pp. 3-22.

N. Ronzitti, “The Current Status of Legal Principles Prohibiting the Use of Force and Legal Justifications of the Use of Force”, in M. Bothe/M.E. O’Connell/N. Ronzitti (eds.), Redefining Sovereignty: The Use of Force After the Cold War, Transnational Publishers, Ardsley-New York, 2005, pp. 91-110.

N. Ronzitti, “The 2006 Conflict in Lebanon and International Law”, Italian Yearbook of International Law, vol. XVI, 2006, pp. 3-19.

N. Ronzitti, “The Expanding Law of Self-defence”, Journal of Conflict & Security Law, vol. 11, 2006, pp. 343-359.