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  5. The principle of prohibition of the threat of force from the position of the UN International Court of Justice

“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 35 (2024), pages 697–707.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2024-35-697-707

Kononenko Valerii
The principle of prohibition of the threat of force from the position of the UN International Court of Justice

The principle of prohibition of the threat of force in relations between states is established in Art. 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. This principle contains a double prohibition: it requires states to refrain from the use of force and any provocations that could potentially lead to the use of force. The principle of non-use of force is an imperative norm of international law (jus cogens). As an exception, threats can be considered as actions of self-defense and/or as defensive counter-threats. The political leadership of the Russian Federation announced «demilitarization» and «denazifi cation» as the offi cial goal of the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine. Instead, almost forty years ago, the UN International Court of Justice expressed its position on this issue. The court noted that a state’s choice of its ideology or political system does not give another state the right to interfere in its internal aff airs. Militarization of a state cannot justify the use of force by another state. In international law, the level of armament of a sovereign state is regulated in a contractual or other normative form. This principle applies to all countries without exception. The International Court of Justice, like the UN as a whole, is not an eff ective mechanism for ensuring compliance with the principles of prohibition of the threat of force and its use. Actions related to looting, seizure and exploitation of natural resources committed by military personnel on the territory of another state are a violation of international obligations on the part of the state to which they are subordinate. Actions of a military nature directed against another state on its territory, in particular, occupation and active support to irregular anti-state formations operating on the territory of such a state, are a violation of the principle of non-use of force in international relations and the principle of non-interference in the internal aff airs of states. The question of the admissibility of a threat as an act of self-defense and whether defensive counter-threats should be considered nonviolent acts of self-defense requires further study.

Key words: the principle of prohibition of the threat of force, demilitarization, denazifi cation, the International Court of the United Nations, aggression, jus cogens.

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