Right of state to self-defense in light of international practice

Question of right of states to self-defense is one of the fundamental questions of public international law. This principle, which exists just as long as public international law does, was formulated in universal manner by the mid 20th century and there are many written works on its formulation and interpretation. Invoking self-defense during the course of history was used as a pretext for the use of force by the states outside of its territories. Right of states to self-defense originates from customary international law. During antic and medieval times, principle of self-defense was linked to the theory of just war which was differently interpreted in different times. In the period between two world wars, still there was no absolute prohibition of the use of force in international relations so the principle of self-defense was linked to the right of self-help through use of different forcible measures: retorsions, reprisals, naval blockade, intervention and demonstration of naval power. Contrary to the period of League of Nations, mechanism of implementation of international law was centralized by the foundation of the United Nations because a single body – Security Council – was entrusted with the authority to determine when the use of force is allowed in international law. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter defines that the states have a right to individual or collective self-defense in case of armed attack on the UN member state. This right is considered legitimate until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Pitanje prava država na samoodbranu je jedno od fundamentalnih pitanja međunarodnog javnog prava. Ovo načelo koji postoji koliko i samo međunarodno pravo, formulisano je na univerzalan način sredinom prošlog vijeka, i postoje mnogi pisani radovi o njegovoj izradi i tumačenju. Pozivanje na samoodbranu kroz cijelu istoriju je korišteno kao opravdanje za zloupotrebu sile od strane država van svojih teritorija.