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01 April 2011 / Craig Barlow , Jason Hadden
Issue: 7459 / Categories: Opinion
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Flying under the radar?

There is a question, which has taxed lawyers and politicians alike for many years now. Is war ever legal? Presidents and prime ministers have sought resolutions, or indeed, not sought resolutions from the United Nations (UN), as justification for war...

Craig Barlow & Jason Hadden examine the legality of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 & its effect

There is a question, which has taxed lawyers and politicians alike for many years now. Is war ever legal? Presidents and prime ministers have sought resolutions, or indeed, not sought resolutions from the United Nations (UN), as justification for war. But perhaps they have asked the wrong question. Perhaps it is not whether war is legal, but whether the UN’s Security Council (SC) actually has the power within its constitution to legalise all wars.
On 16 March 2011 the UN’s Security Council passed Resolution No 1973 purporting to create a “no fly zone” over Libya. Within days Colonel Gaddafi asserted in a letter to western governments that the Resolution was invalid and asked: “Who gave

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NEWS
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
The treasury has sought to reassure the legal profession over concerns about cost, bureaucracy and independence when the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) takes over regulation of anti-money laundering compliance
One out of two barristers has come under pressure from clients to act unethically, according to the results of this year’s Barristers’ Working Lives survey
The Court of Appeal has held the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) was wrong to set aside a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision on unfair pricing of phenytoin, an epilepsy drug
A flagship employment law reform is due to come into effect on 1 July, extending unfair dismissal rights to employees after six months in their job instead of two years
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