Global InformationLegality of the Iraq War information
The legality of the Iraq War is a contested topic that spans both domestic and international law. Political leaders in the US and the UK who supported the invasion of Iraq have claimed that the war was legal.[1] However, legal experts and other world leaders have argued that the war lacked justification and violated the United Nations charter.
In the UK, John Chilcot, chairman of the Iraq Inquiry, concluded that the process of identifying the legal basis for the invasion of Iraq was unsatisfactory and that the actions of the US and the UK undermined the authority of the United Nations.[citation needed] John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister to Tony Blair, has also argued that the invasion of Iraq lacked legality.[2] In a 2005 paper, Kramer and Michalowski argued that the war "violated the UN Charter and international humanitarian law".[3]
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the war was unjustified.[4] In a televised conference before a meeting with the US envoy to Iraq, Putin said that "The use of force abroad, according to existing international laws, can only be sanctioned by the United Nations. This is the international law. Everything that is done without the UN Security Council's sanction cannot be recognized as fair or justified."[5][4][6]
US and UK officials have argued that the invasion was already authorized under existing UN Security Council resolutions regarding the 1991 Gulf War, the subsequent ceasefire (660, 678), and later inspections of Iraqi weapons programs (1441).[7]
Critics of the invasion have challenged these assertions. They argued that an additional Security Council resolution, which the US and UK failed to obtain, would have been necessary to specifically authorize the invasion.[8][9][10] In September 2004, then-United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated, "I have indicated that it is not in accordance with the UN charter. From our point of view and the UN Charter point of view, it [the war] was illegal".[8][11]
The UN Security Council, as outlined in Article 39 of the UN Charter, has the ability to rule on the legality of the war. It has yet not been asked to do so by any UN member nation. Given that the United States and the United Kingdom have veto power in the Security Council, action by the Security Council is highly improbable even if the issue were to be raised. Despite this, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) may ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—"the principal judicial organ of the United Nations" (Article 92)—to give either an 'advisory opinion' or 'judgement' on the legality of the war.
- ^ Murphy, Sean (2004). "Assessing the Legality of Invading Iraq". George Washington Law School. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016.
- ^ "Iraq War was illegal, says Blair's former deputy". Al-Arabiya. 9 July 2016. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Kramer, Ronald C.; Michalowski, Raymond J. (1 July 2005). "War, Aggression and State Crime". The British Journal of Criminology. 45 (4): 446–469. doi:10.1093/bjc/azi032. ISSN 0007-0955.
- ^ a b "Iraq war was unjustified, Putin says". ABC. 19 December 2003. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "U.S. urges Putin to drop Iraq debt". CNN. 18 December 2003. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "11 Times Russian Leaders Condemned The Use Of Force Without U.N. Approval". Buzzfeed. March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "We're sorry, that page can't be found" (PDF). fpc.State.gov. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Iraq war illegal, says Annan". BBC News. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- ^ O'Connell, Mary Ellen (21 November 2002). "UN Resolution 1441: Compelling Saddam, Restraining Bush". Jurist. Archived from the original on 16 May 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- ^ Taylor, Rachel S. "International Law - War in Iraq - United Nations - Iraq". World Press Review Online. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- ^ Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger in Washington (16 September 2004). "Iraq war was illegal and breached UN charter, says Annan". London: Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2010.