Legitimacy Of Intervention

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Legality of Humanitarian Intervention Keywords: Humanitarian intervention, human rights, Just War theory, Thomas Aquinas Moral dilemma: Humanitarian intervention is the most controversial element of international relations theory - It is fought with difficulty and is not susceptible to easy answers Intervention is an intersection of two competing ethical demands, on the one side you have the prohibition of the use of armed force against another state and on the other you have the objective of stopping mass violations of human rights and humanitarian law Legality: Determined by treaties and customs, notion of legality is intended to be objective and universal, all actors are subject to it deciding whether an act is lawful remains a legal question addressed by legal experts Legitimacy: Far less objective, synonymous with morality and justice, Concept of legitimacy is less precise than legality There's no test for legitimacy or methodology for doing it, idea of legitimacy is a multidisciplinary concept: Moral, Philosophical, Political and Legal principles are involved It is up to the individual to decide whether a specific act is justified Problems: When legitimacy and legality come into conflict When something is deemed legitimate but is prohibited by law Without international endorsements by the Security Council of the UN(which creates a sense of consensus as a result of a successful political process on what is seen as legitimate) tensions between law and legitimacy may weaken legal rules that are necessary for the survival of states Legal treaties and papers can not always provide sufficient legality/justification on moral issues Legalist Paradigm: 1 There exists and international society of independent states 2 International society has a law that establishes the rights of
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