ABSTRACT

The clearest ideological approach to self-defense and to the permissibility of the use of force in international relations—one viewed through the prism of the East-West confrontation—appears in the so-called doctrines of Brezhnev and Ronald Reagan. A review of fixed views on the question of self-defense is both possible and imperative. It is hardly possible or necessary to create completely new legal norms to regulate the exercise of the right to self-defense. International legal norms governing the right to self-defense received their most authoritative interpretation in the decision of June 27, 1986, by the International Court of Justice in the case of Nicaragua v. United States of America. Particular caution is necessary in invoking self-defense in instances of military attack with the assistance of irregular forces or mercenaries. In reality self-defense is the legitimate use of force, and for the defending state, in contrast to the aggressor, there is no reason to cover up its actions.