Article 51 of the UN Charter
Right to Self-Defence
Article 51 of the UN Charter preserves the "inherent right" of states to individual or collective self-defence "if an armed attack occurs" against them, until the Security Council takes necessary measures. It is one of the most litigated provisions of international law and sits in tension with Article 2(4), which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state.
- For a self-defence claim to be valid under international law, the attack must be attributable to a state, significant in scale, and the response must be necessary and proportionate.
- The ICJ's Nicaragua v. USA (1986) judgment established that support for non-state armed groups can constitute an armed attack only if the state exercises "effective control" over those groups.
- Pakistan challenged India's claim, arguing no attack attributable to the Pakistani state had occurred; India countered with satellite imagery and intelligence documentation of official Pakistani support for the named groups.
● Tracked since April 11, 2026 · last seen July 16, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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