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3/7/25, 4:57 PM about:blank Exam - International Public Law exam on International personality, the UN Charter on 1. The aggression and violence involved in a war challenges the basic values of a functioning civilisation; peace, liberty, security, and life. The International Court of Justice, States and scholars have long argued over the meaning and scope of the prohibition of conflict, contained within the UN Charters. Some suggest that Article 2(4) is a symbolic piece of law rather than a hard piece of law, which has left some scholars feeling like the Article has been left obsolete. The UN 1945: The United Nations was created in 1945 following the Second World War with the intention of maintain peace and security. The UN Security council is responsible for this duty, they can determine the existence of a threat to peace or acts of aggression and call parties to settle it by peacefull means. Under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the SC can take enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace. This could be economic sanctions, or establishing UN Peacekeeping operations. The UN places emphasis on conflict prevention using diplomacy and mediation, the best way to prevent human suffering is by preventing a war from starting. This is perhaps the most successful effort at preventing international conflict with active participation in peacekeeping missions, providing aid to people who have lost their homes due to persecution/war, and establishing the first comprehensive framework for human rights law. However, they have been criticised for their inability to effectively enforce mandates, the ‘veto’ power the SC have means States usually put their own national interests as a priority, and how the UN institutions are largely dominated by Wester States (EU and American interests usually taking priority). ‘The Charter. Article 2(4) provides that Member States should refrain from using threat/force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. This has been referenced in other international documents, such as the Declaration on Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States 1965 which explicitly said no states have the right to “intervene, directly or indirectly...in the internal or external affairs of any other state...armed intervention...or attempted threats against the personality of the state...are condemned”. Article 2(4) was referenced as a principle of international law in the Declaration on Principles of International Law, which went further by saying states cannot use force as a method of dispute resolution. Article 2(4) is the restatement of the customary norm in international law, that force is prohibited. The article gives the UN Security Council a monopoly over the use of force, all states are legally bound to its mandate. The article is comprehensive in scope, it noticeably uses the word ‘force’ as opposed to ‘war’, this covers other violent situations which don’t fall under the category of war. Secondly, the article covers ‘threat or use of force’ which makes it broad, and has a restrictive effect on the limited exceptions contained within the article. Thomas Franck questioned the validity of the UN Charters prohibition against the use of force, he argued the UN prohibition against force was imperfect — the charter was created with the assumption that the “Big 5° (which includes the UK, USA and the Soviet Union) would always provide the means for ensuring peace under the UN, this failed to take into account the 17 
