Informationsanforderungen bei der Ausübung des Selbstverteidigungsrechts nach der Charta der Vereinten Nationen.

Forschungseinrichtung: Universität Bochum

Projektleiter: Prof. Dr. Wolf

The Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict
Project Overview 2003/2004 of the Information Project

The Information Requirements for the Exercise of the Right to Self Defence in International Law

Can the right of self-defence be modified without bypassing or weakening the international institutions responsible for securing peace ?
A multi-disciplinary project looking at the key issues concerning the exercise of the right to self defence by states in the terrrorist age.

Contributors

Members of the institute, specialists from the OPCW, ICTY, and EUROPOL, academics, technical experts, diplomats & UN Personnel

Themes and Key issues:
I. The right of self defence by states in response to an armed attack: Has the response to terrorist attacks by states changed the notion of armed attack ? How can terrorist attacks be attributed to states ?
How can covert attacks be characterised as aggression by another state ?
How can covert attacks be characterised as aggression ?
In the absence of an explicit link between terrorist acts and a state, what criteria should be employed in order to justify the use of force against that state ?
How does the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice in the Corfu Channel Case, the Teheran Hostages Case, and the Lockerbie Case assist to resolve these issues in the context of international counter-terrorism ?
How much can the actions of non-state actors be attributed to states ?
What level of control must be shown by a foreign power over loosely-knit terrorist cells in order to attribute responsibility for terrorist acts ?
How can the acts of terrorist groups abroad be attributed to the leadership of terrorist cells located in another country ?
Does the distinction between war and peace disappear when the activities of global terrorist networks are characterised as armed attacks ?

II. The exercise of self defence and collective security: Have the responses to September 11 and Iraq led to a modification of the cooperation between the Security Council and the state or group of states exercising self defence ?
What information is required from a state when it reports to the Security Council in accordance with Article 51 S.2 ?

III. The impact on international institutions responsible for securing peace: Can the UN collective security regime respond to acts of violence committed by terrorist groups ? Should a form of cooperative Risk Management be used in the future ?
The new forms of linking national self-defence and collective security

Conferences:
28-29 November 2003. The Hague.
Day 1
The new forms of attacks - What form of attacks are likely to trigger the right to self defence in the future ?
The Delivery of Weapons of Mass Destruction,
Cyber Attacks,
Violent Attacks by Private Groups,
Networks of terrorists as a threat,
Media Sponsored Violence.

Day 2
The gathering, protection, and evaluation of information concerning chemical and biological weapons. State cooperation in intelligence and data gathering for cross-border crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law
The intelligence cycle and the assessment of intelligence;
Before the fact and after the fact analysis: The difference between military intelligence product and evidence;
Standards for sharing intelligence and use of intelligence in regional organisations,
The E.C. Response to Terrorism post September 11 - Increased coordination in intelligence gathering and political decision making in the European Union;
 Decision making and collective security in NATO - How the regional security organisation addresses the coordination of members which have different sets of information, different decision making cycles, and  different levels of risk-taking
April 2004, New York
(In conjunction with Columbia University)
The ability of the UN collective security regime to respond to acts of violence committed by terrorist groups

Publications:
"The Bochum Proposal"
The Bochum proposal will contain a mix of legal and technical writing to offer a fresh perspective and to make a practical contribution to the issues covered by the project. The papers from the conferences and commentaries by subject specialists will be published progressively on the project webpage, culminating in the publication of the Bochum proposal as a book in 2004 after at the conclusion of the conferences.
The Project web site will contain links to key documents and resources concerning the characterisation of the new forms of attack in international law, the attribution of attacks to states, the current debate on the use of intelligence by states to justify the exercise of self defence, and the role of the United Nations and regional organisations in collective security. The web-site will include links to recent documents highlighting the themes of the project, including the parliamentary enquiries made into the use of intelligence to justify participation in the Iraq conflict