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The ratione temporis elements of self-defence

Green, James A.

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Abstract

This article focuses on one particular factor that is of crucial importance to all self-defence actions. It is a factor that is almost always present in the application and appraisal of the right, but one that is not always explicitly engaged with: time. There are various ratione temporis elements underpinning the lawful exercise of the right of self-defence, and questions related to the timing of both an attack being responded to in self-defence and the response itself are notably controversial. The self-defence timeline is therefore charted, and the key legal debates encountered along its trajectory are identified. In particular, there is a focus on three temporal ‘stages’ of the right of self-defence: (i) the much-debated question of preventative forms of self-defence (the ‘before’); (ii) the timeliness of a state's defensive action, or what is sometimes called the need for the response to be ‘immediate’ (the ‘during’); and (iii) the duration of self-defence actions, including the crucial issue of when they must end (the ‘after’). The aim of this article is not to break new substantive ground with regard to these ‘stages’ as such, but is, rather, to draw together the temporal strands of self-defence in a more focused manner than is often the case in the literature.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 24, 2015
Online Publication Date Jun 24, 2015
Publication Date Jun 24, 2015
Deposit Date Jul 29, 2021
Publicly Available Date Aug 3, 2021
Journal Journal on the Use of Force and International Law
Print ISSN 2053-1702
Electronic ISSN 2053-1710
Publisher Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 2
Issue 1
Pages 97-118
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/20531702.2015.1043097
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7576548

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