The Iraq War and the Limits of International Law

In the wake of the British parliamentary election, and as the Chilcot Inquiry continues its assessment of the decision to invade Iraq, an opportune moment arises for commentators and policymakers to reconsider how international law regulates the initial decision by states to go to war. This opportunity should be taken since, while the media has considered the question of whether the Iraq war was illegal in depth, the underlying issues of what illegality means in the context of international law, and why public officials frequently differ in their interpretation of it, are seldom addressed.  Seven years after the invasion of Iraq, the debate over its legality should be framed in these wider terms.

The Iraq War and the Limits of International Law