As Executive Chair of the International Law Association, a body dedicated for nearly 150 years to the advancement of peace and justice through international law, it is appropriate at this moment to affirm the Association’s commitment to the rules of international law. These include the legal obligation upon all states to comply with the principles set out in the United Nations Charter, especially article 2 (4) relating to the prohibition of the use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any state without a mandate from the Security Council, or in lawful self-defence.
In Resolution 4/2018 the ILA endorsed the conclusion of its Committee on the Use of Force that ‘The UN Charter goal of collective peace and security depends upon strict adherence to the international law on the use of force.’ I also emphasise article 2 (3) of the Charter requiring the settlement of disputes through peaceful means, obligations under international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights. These principles constitute peremptory norms of international law from which no derogation is permissible and which underpin the international rule of law.
The importance of all these principles is especially relevant in the current time.
Professor Christine Chinkin CMG FBA
Executive Chair – International Law Association (ILA)
25th February 2022