Hello michael2 and thank you for your question.
There are many sites that discuss the basis for and against the war in
Iraq under International law, and I have tried to present the ones
that appear to present the most factual details (as opposed to news
sites etc):
From Boston University:
"Hot Topic: International Law and the Iraq Crisis
Links and citations to articles and reports related to international
law and the crisis in Iraq from:"
http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/research/int/hot_topics/intlawiraq.htm
"ARTICLE 51 AND THE ARGUMENT FOR PRE-EMPTIVE SELF-DEFENSE
The first exception, self-defense, has long been discussed and debated
among international legal scholars. Although the text of Article 51
explicitly provides only for "the inherent right of individual or
collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs," over the years,
scholars have expanded the required trigger for self-defense to
include both when an armed attack occurs and when an armed attack is
imminent. The legal definition of "imminent" has grown out of an 1837
incident in which British troops attacked the ship Caroline, which
U.S. citizens were using to take supplies to Canadian rebels fighting
British rule. In his much-quoted analysis of the confrontation years
later, then-Secretary of State Daniel Webster argued that the use of
force in self-defense is justified when the need for action is
"instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment
for deliberation." Webster's criteria subsequently became the standard
in international law.
But such circumstances—in which an armed attack occurs or is
imminent—do not aptly describe the current Iraqi crisis. And so
President George W. Bush, over the past several months, has introduced
a new category of self-defense—pre-emptive self-defense—that he claims
is legally justified in the new post-Sept. 11 world."
http://www.worldpress.org/specials/iraq/
"International Law and a War on Iraq" series of website links:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/lawindex.htm
"Opponents of the Iraq war, including Security Council nations such as
Russia, have claimed that it violates international law. And, as
Michael Dorf points out in a recent column for this site, it appears
that they are correct."
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20030322.html
Thank you for your question and if you need any clarification of my
answer, do not hesitate to ask.
Very best regards
THX1138
In order to filter out as many news and 'pundit' sites as possible I
used the following search which searches only educational sites
(universities etc)
"international law" legal iraq site:.edu
://www.google.com/search?q=%22international+law%22+legal+iraq+site:.edu&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&start=10&sa=N |
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