Humanitarian Intervention Against States Supporting Terrorism
Humanitarian Intervention Against States Supporting Terrorism

Summary/Abstract: The notion of "humanitarian intervention" has been subject to solemn debates, especially since the end of the Cold War. As a political symptom of the unipolar international system it raises grave international legal issues as well, making a conflict among some of the basic rules and principles of contemporary international law. The basic contradiction is between the genus proximus and the differentia specifica of this term. The principle of non-intervention is based on the sovereign equality of States; consequently it regards interests of States primarily, while humanitarian law protects individuals directly. This interpretation renders humanitarian intervention a conflict of interests, and this way the resolution of this conflict should contain a hierarchy of the interests involved. This hierarchy can be established not just morally, but also based upon existing international law. The doctrine had been long upholding that however States are the primary subjects of this law, its rules concern individuals, and the post-war development clearly has shown, that their interest often precedes rights and interests of States.[...] In the present paper the author shall examine the support of terrorism by a State as a possible justification for humanitarian intervention; subsequently he shall also add a brief analysis on the humanitarian questions of the recent situation.

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