Article 51 of the UN Charter
Right of Self-Defence
Article 51 preserves the "inherent right" of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a UN member state, until the Security Council acts; states must immediately report such measures to the Security Council, and the response must satisfy customary law requirements of necessity and proportionality.
- The International Court of Justice, in Nicaragua v. United States (1986), held that self-defence applies only to the "most grave forms" of the use of force, not lesser incidents
- A minority of states, including the US and allies, argue self-defence can extend to pre-emptive action against an "imminent" armed attack, a position not universally accepted
- Actions outside a clear Article 51 justification, absent UN Security Council authorization under Chapter VII, raise questions of compliance with the UN Charter's general prohibition on the use of force (Article 2(4))
● Tracked since April 11, 2026 · last seen September 03, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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