ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the various conceptions formulated regarding the content of proportionality. It considers how proportionality is understood in the context of the EU and national legal systems, as this is essential for comprehending the substantive elements of the notion generally. The chapter also focuses on proportionality as applied in the law of the use of force and the law of countermeasures and on the question of whether proportionality does or should coincide in these two areas of international law. It attempts to touch on the question as to whether the nature of the infringed obligation and, more specifically, whether of a bilateral nature or erga omnes, has, or should have, any bearing on the assessment of proportionality. The criterion of proportionality varies according to whether the Court is called to review the proportionality of a specific Community measure or the proportionality of a certain national measure.
