UN Charter Article 51
The Right of Self-Defence and Its Limits
Article 51 of the UN Charter preserves the "inherent" right of individual or collective self-defence for a UN member state if an armed attack occurs against it, until the Security Council takes measures necessary to restore peace. It functions as the principal exception to Article 2(4)'s general prohibition on the use of force against another state's territorial integrity or political independence.
- Self-defence under Article 51 is available only in response to an actual (or, under the contested doctrine of anticipatory self-defence, a genuinely imminent) armed attack, and is constrained by the customary law principles of necessity and proportionality
- Any measures taken in self-defence must be immediately reported to the UN Security Council, which retains overriding authority to act to maintain international peace and security
- The right is provisional — it lasts only until the Security Council itself takes effective measures, after which unilateral action is expected to give way to collective mechanisms
● Tracked since July 10, 2026 · last seen September 03, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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