ABSTRACT
One of the earliest concerns of international law has been to determine the circumstances in which the use of force might be justified. This aspect of the subject is generally referred to as ‘the laws of war’ although this expression requires qualification. The expression governs both the rules that determine when resort to force may be justified (jus ad bellum) and the rules that determine the actual conduct of armed conflict (jus in bello). It is intended in this chapter to deal with the former category of jus ad bellum.
