Introduction to issue 10(2)

It is bittersweet for us to be welcoming you to our last issue as Co-Editors-in-Chief of the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law (JUFIL). This issue begins with a topical and insightful contribution by Anne Peters related to the continuing war in Ukraine. In particular, and in the context of current debates regarding both the future of the United Nations (UN) system as well as the prospects and perils of holding the Russian Federation and its leaders to account for recent events in Ukraine, the article argues not only that vetoes exercised by permanent members in the UN Security Council to shield acts of aggression from condemnation are invalid, but that an argument can be made that a norm exists obliging other Security Council member states to treat such vetoes as abusive and that they thus can be assimilated to an abstention. Continuing the focus on the situation in Ukraine, Christian Schaller looks at the issue of if, and if so when, it might be concluded that military aid or assistance to another state constitutes a use of force within the meaning of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. While not usually the case, the article argues that such a conclusion cannot be ruled out, and, indeed, is one that can arguably be reached in the context of military support to Ukraine.

The issue then shifts its focus to recent events in Niger, which have seen the democratically elected president removed from power by military coup. Two articles on this situation, one by Svenja Raube and another by Russell Buchan and Nicholas Tsagourias, look at the issue of ECOWAS’s threat to use force to restore democracy in Niger, and in particular whether this might be justified on the basis of the provision of consent or an invitation to intervene. In exploring this issue, both articles examine whether such consent can be seen to have been provided through Niger’s membership of ECOWAS and its constitutive treaty and whether this constitutes, as Raube terms it, an ‘anticipatory intervention treaty’ that can be relied upon in this case. Buchan and Tsagourias go on to compare this possibility with that of Niger’s deposed president providing ad hoc consent for the intervention, and whether this justified the threat to intervene by ECOWAS.

The articles section of the issue concludes with a piece by Florian Kriener and Leonie Brassat. While the focus of the piece shifts from the situation in Niger to that of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s military intervention in Kazakhstan in January 2022 which resulted in the quashing of a non-violent protest movement in the country, the piece maintains the focus on the issue of interventions by invitation or consent. In particular, the article is critical of the lack of attention that was generated by the Kazakh president’s invitation in the context of the prohibition of the use of force. Kriener and Brassat challenge the view that such an invitation was legally sufficient to justify the intervention in this case, yet go on to make the broader argument that international law prohibits states from intervening in another state in order to quash non-violent protest movements.

Following the articles section, and concluding this issue, is the latest iteration for JUFIL’s trademark Digest of State Practice, covering the period 1 January – 30 June 2023. As ever, the Digest covers a wide range of practice from around the world, including inter alia US Africa Command continuation of ‘collective self-defence’ strikes against al-Shabaab in Somalia ‘at the request’ of the Somali government; Mali’s request for the immediate withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the Security Council’s resulting termination of MINUSMA’s mandate; debates among states on whether an international armed force should be sent to Haiti at its request to combat the gang violence in the country continued; and, of course, ongoing condemnation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and various actions taken to support Ukraine in response.

***

This is the tenth volume and twentieth issue of the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law. As alluded to at the start of this Introduction, the tenth anniversary of JUFIL’s production provides a suitable occasion for us to step down as Editors-in-Chief and to pass the baton to a new team of jus ad bellum aficionados. This is thus our last issue at the helm, and we would like to take the opportunity to say some quick words of thanks. First, to each other – we all feel very lucky to have been together as three friends and colleagues, as we travelled the road (or dare one say rollercoaster ride?) we have taken over the last decade plus. It is now some twelve years ago that the three of us signed the original publishing agreement – then with Hart Publishing – through which the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law was born. This happened in the margin of a meeting of the ILA Committee on the Use of Force at the Cambridge Lauterpacht Centre, under the approving eye of Hersch Lauterpacht’s bust in the Centre’s hallway, and the equally approving eye of our dear friend Claus Kreβ, co-signing as witness. It has been an immense mutual pleasure and a privilege to work together throughout the years and to see the Journal thrive and find its place in the competitive landscape of legal publishing.

Huge thanks must go to the vast team of people who have contributed to the JUFIL’s success – and, so, made us look good – through their hard work, vast expertise and dedication over the last 10 years. There are far too many of you to name here, but we have had crucial support from the different colleagues who have acted (past and present) as the General Editors of the Digest, or as part of the wider Digest team of regional coordinators, from various fantastic Editorial Assistants, from our Book Review Editor (more on whom in a moment), from our Advisory and Editorial Board members, and from the teams of people working for us at our publishers (initially at Hart, and now at Routledge/Taylor and Francis). And, of course, thanks also must go to the many, many peer reviewers who have given their time to the JUFIL. This publication would not have been possible without the efforts of you all. We are so grateful.

It is with a feeling of sadness, but also pride, that we now make room for a fresh team of Editors-in-Chief. We are delighted to be handing over, from the start of 2024, to Dr Francis Grimal (who has already served this Journal with distinction as Book Review Editor for the last decade), Dr Chiara Redaelli, and Dr Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg. We have no doubt that this exceptional new team will continue to uphold the Journal’s standards qua quality and academic integrity, and to maintain its role as an indispensable source of jus ad bellum scholarship in the broadest sense. For us, it has been an honour, but it is time. Ut floreat, valeat, crescat …