The Legality of the Unilateral Use of Force on Humanitarian Grounds and the International Responsibility for the Misconduct of the United Nations Peacekeeping Troops: a Hypothetical Case Study

Abstract

This master thesis is a legal analysis of the hypothetical case, which formed the problem in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in 2009. The thesis presents the position of the Applicant, therefore, the analysis is subjective and conclusions are prejudiced. There are two main problems that are analyzed in the context of the hypothetical case: the legality of the unilateral use of force on humanitarian grounds and the allocation of the international responsibility for the United Nations peacekeeping troops. It is aimed to be proven that first, only the UN Charter provides a universally accepted basis for the use of force and no additional exceptions exist under the customary international law. Therefore, as the Respondent's military intervention cannot be justified under the UN Charter, it is illegal. Second, for the purposes of the allocation of the international responsibility for the misconduct of the United Nations peacekeeping troops the effective control test applies and the rules imposed by it lead to the attribution of the misconduct to the Respondent. The conclusions are made based on the analysis and interpretation of international law, which is understood as comprising the sources of international law enumerated in the Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.