Submission on the UK's Legal Basis for Military Action in Iraq
(5 September 2010), The Iraq Inquiry (in The National Archives (UK), archived 23 November 2017)
7 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2019 Last revised: 14 Dec 2019
Date Written: 2010
Abstract
The submission aims to shed light on the meaning of the single phrase in Security Council resolution 678 (1990) on which, in the final analysis, the UK’s legal justification for its military action in Iraq rests. On the basis of close textual comparison with Security Council resolutions adopted in the context of the Korean War, it argues that resolution 678 was intended to authorize military action to remove Iraq from Kuwait and no more.
Keywords: Iraq inquiry, use of force
JEL Classification: K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation