This Master's thesis examines the permissibility of invoking the right to self-defence against non-state actors whose conduct cannot be attributed to any state. The framework of the international law, established after the Second World War, was designed to regulate relations between states and did not envisage that armed attacks might originate from actors beyond state control. However, contemporary security threats, particularly transnational terrorism, seem to challenge this structure. The 9/11 terrorist attacks demonstrated that non-state actors can commit armed attacks within the scope of Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations (UN), raising the question of when a state may lawfully resort to self-defence. The Master's thesis explores the legal basis for invoking the right to self-defence in both treaty law and international customary law. It analyses the relationship between the traditional reading of Article 51 of the UN Charter, as interpreted through the rules of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice and the evolving practice of states. Based on this analysis, the Master's thesis concludes that the right to self-defence against non-state actors may be exercised under the existing law, but only with the prior consent of the state or authorized by the UN Security Council. Although some state practice points towards a broader application of this right, current customary international law still lacks the needed, consistency, generality and a clearly expressed opinio juris, to support such an extension.
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