The Prohibition of the Use of Force Under Attack

The prohibition of the use of force is a fundamental modern principle of international law proclaimed in the United Nations Charter in 1945. Despite its recent history, the principle is arguably one of the most contested, some commentators even claiming that it fell into desuetude within a short space of time. Just as Franck asked, ‘Who killed art. 2.4?’, some scholars are questioning whether given the frequent violation of rule, we can in fact consider that states have given their consent to it. They are also raising the question as to whether it is necessary to adapt the rule to the new security context to avoid it being ignored altogether by the states.