Preventive Attack – Legal Category or International Law Illusion?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46282/afi.2026.1.04Keywords:
ius ad bellum, self-defence, imminence, preventive attack, preemptive attack, UN CharterAbstract
The article examines the legal status of preventive use of force in international law, with regard to the UN Charter, ICJ jurisprudence, and the dominant doctrine. It focuses on distinguishing between anticipatory (preemptive) and preventive self-defence and analyses post-9/11 trends, including the “unable or unwilling” doctrine. Through case studies (Israel 1967, Iraq 2003, operations against ISIS), it assesses whether a new customary norm is emerging. The conclusion confirms that preventive attack in the narrow sense remains outside the framework of permissible use of force, although technological developments and the changing nature of threats are pushing toward a reconsideration of the concept of imminence.
References
1. AREND, A. C., BECK, R., J. International Law and the Use of Force: Beyond the UN Charter Paradigm. London: Routledge, 1993. ISBN 978-0415093040
2. BELLAMY, A. J. International Law and the War with Iraq. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 2003, roč. 4, č. 2. ISSN 1444-8602
3. BETHLEHEM, D. Self-Defense Against an Imminent or Actual Armed Attack by Nonstate Actors. American Journal of International Law, 2012, roč. 106, č. 4. ISSN 0002-9300
4. BOWETT, D., W. Self-Defence in International Law. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1958.
5. BROWNLIE, I. International Law and the Use of Force by States. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1963.
6. BRUNNÉE, J., TOOPE, S., J. Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors: Are Powerful States Willing but Unable to Change International Law? International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 2018, roč. 67, č. 2. ISSN 0020-5893
7. CASSESE, A. International Law. 2. vydanie. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN 9780199259397.
8. COHEN, A. Israel and the Bomb. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. ISBN 0231104820
9. CORTEN, O. The Law Against War: The Prohibition on the Use of Force in Contemporary International Law. (2. vydanie). Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2021. ISBN 978-1-50994-899-4
10. CORTEN, O. The ‘Unwilling or Unable’ Test: Has It Been, and Could It Be, Accepted? Leiden Journal of International Law, 2016, roč. 29, č. 3. ISSN 0922-1565
11. CORTEN, O. Controversies Over the Customary Prohibition on the Use of Force: A Methodological Debate, European Journal of International Law, 2005, roč. 16, č. 5. ISSN 0938-5428
12. DEEKS, A. S. ‘Unwilling or Unable’: Toward a Normative Framework for Extraterritorial Self-Defense. Virginia Journal of International Law, 2012, roč. 52, č. 3. ISSN 0042-6571
13. DEEKS, A., S. Taming the Doctrine of Pre-Emption, in WELLER, M. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Use of Force in International Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015. ISBN 978-0-19-967304-9
14. DINSTEIN, Y. War, Aggression and Self-Defence, 7. vydanie. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1-107-19114-3.
15. FURSENKO, A., NAFTALI, T. One Hell of a Gamble: Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy 1958–1964. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. ISBN 978-0393040708
16. GOLDSMITH, P. Legal Basis for the Use of Force Against Iraq. Statement to the House of Lords, 17 March 2003. In: Hansard, House of Lords, vol. 646, col. WA2–WA3. Dostupné na: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldhansrd/vo030317/text/30317w01.htm cit. 4.3.2026
17. GRAY, C. International Law and the Use of Force, 4. vydanie. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN 978-01-9880-841-1.
18. GREEN, J. A. The Persistent Objector Rule in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-19-870421-8.
19. GREENWOOD, C. International Law and the Pre-emptive Use of Force: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida and Iraq. San Diego International Law Journal, 2003, roč. 4, č. 1. ISSN 1539-7904
20. JANKUV, J. a kol. Medzinárodné právo verejné. Prvá časť. Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, 2015. ISBN 978-80-7380-559-3.
21. JENNINGS, R., Y. The Caroline and McLeod Cases, American Journal of International Law, 1938, Vol. 32, č. 1. ISSN 0002-9300
22. MILANOVIC, M. The Soleimani Strike and Self-Defence Against an Imminent Armed Attack. EJIL: Talk!, 7 January 2020. Dostupné na: https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-soleimani-strike-and-self-defence-against-an-imminent-armed-attack/ cit. 18.3.2026
23. O’CONNELL, M. E. “The Myth of Preemptive Self-Defense.” ASIL Task Force Papers, 2002. Dostupné na: https://www.nyccriminallawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/oconnell.pdf cit. 5.3.2026
24. O'CONNELL, M., E. The Killing of Soleimani and International Law. EJIL: Talk!, 6 January 2020. Dostupné na: https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-killing-of-soleimani-and-international-law/. cit. 18.3.2026
25. ORAKHELASHVILI, A. Peremptory Norms in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-19-929596-8
26. OREN, M. B. Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 9780195151749
27. RANDELZHOFER, A., DÖRR, O. (eds.). The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary. Vol. I. (3. vydanie). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-19-963976-2.
28. ROCKEFELLER, M., L. The Imminent Threat Requirement for the Use of Preemptive Military Force: Is It Time for a Non-Temporal Standard?, Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, 2004, roč. 33, č. 1. ISSN 0196-2035
29. RUYS, T. ‘Armed Attack’ and Article 51 of the UN Charter: Evolutions in Customary Law and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-521-76664-7
30. SADOFF, D., A. A Question of Determinacy: The Legal Status of Anticipatory Self-Defense. Georgetown Journal of International Law, 2009. roč. 40. ISSN 1550-5200
31. SCHACHTER, O. International Law in Theory and Practice. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1991. ISBN 978-0792310242
32. SCHMITT, M., N. Preemptive Strategies in International Law. Michigan Journal of International Law, 2003, roč. 24, č. 2. ISSN 1052-2867
33. SCHMITT, M., N. (gen. ed.), Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2017. ISBN 978-1-107-17722-2
34. SHAW, M., N. International Law. 9. vydanie. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1-10-873305-2
35. SVÁK, J., MAREČEK, L. a kol. Medzinárodné právo verejné a úvod do verejného medzinárodného práva. Bratislava: Wolters Kluwer, 2024. ISBN 978-80-571-0704-0.
36. TAMS, C. J. The Use of Force against Terrorists. European Journal of International Law, 2009. ISSN 0938-5428
37. WEBSTER, D. Letter to Lord Ashburton of 6 August 1842, in: MOORE, J. B. (ed.). A Digest of International Law, vol. II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906. Dostupné na: https://archive.org/details/digestofinternat02mooriala cit. 3.3.2026
38. WELLER, M. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of the Use of Force in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0-19-967304-9
39. INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY. Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic. Report by the Director General. Vienna: IAEA, 24 May 2011. GOV/2011/30.
40. INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION. Draft Conclusions on Identification of Peremptory Norms of General International Law (jus cogens), with Commentaries. Yearbook of the International Law Commission. 2022. Vol. II, Part Two. Dostupné na: https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/1_14_2022.pdf cit. 3.3.2026
41. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. Washington, D.C.: The White House, September 2002
42. UNITED NATIONS. Letter dated 23 September 2014 from the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General. New York: United Nations. S/2014/69523. September 2014.
43. UNITED NATIONS. Letter dated 24 August 2016 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, S/2016/723, 24 August 2016.
44. UNITED NATIONS. Letter dated 9 October 2019 from the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, S/2019/804, 9. október 2019.
45. UNITED NATIONS. Letter dated 8 January 2020 from the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, S/2020/20, 8. január 2020.
46. UNITED NATIONS. Letter dated 24 February 2022 from the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, S/2022/154, 24. február 2022.
47. UNITED NATIONS. Letter dated 13 April 2024 from the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, S/2024/305, 16. apríl 2024
48. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL.S/PV.8645. 24 október 2019
49. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL. S/PV.9602, 14. apríl 2024
50. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL. SC/16315, 11. marec 2026
51. UNITED NATIONS. A/79/143, 12. júl 2024
52. Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Merits, Judgment, ICJ Reports 1986.
53. Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, ICJ Reports 1996.
54. Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), Merits, Judgment, ICJ Reports 2003.
55. Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda), Judgment, ICJ Reports 2005.
56. Reuters: Which key Iranian figures have been killed in US-Israeli strikes?
57. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/which-key-iranian-figures-have-been-killed-us-israeli-strikes-2026-03-18/ cit. 18.3.2026
58. Reuters: US weighs military reinforcements as Iran war enters possible new phase
59. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-weighs-military-reinforcements-iran-war-enters-possible-new-phase-2026-03-18/ cit. 18.3.2026
60. Briefing Security Council on Reported Israeli Attacks against Iran’s Diplomatic Premises in Syria, Top UN Official Urges Efforts to Prevent Further Escalation
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Comenius: Acta Facultatis Iuridicae Universitatis Comenianae
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
