Abstract
This article examines, under public international law, the legality of the two United States military operations against Libya in 1986: Prairie Fire (24-25 March) and Eldorado Canyon (14-15 April). The author argues that both contravene the customary and conventional obligation of non-intervention and the prohibition of the use of force in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. Relying on the International Court of Justice's Nicaragua and Corfu Channel judgments and on General Assembly resolutions, he shows that the conditions for self-defence under Article 51 - prior armed aggression, necessity and proportionality - were not met. The study then qualifies this conclusion through two contested issues: the imprecise legal status of the Gulf of Sirte under the law of the sea, and the difficulty of attributing terrorist acts to Libya. It concludes that, whereas the March operation might find limited justification, the April raid clearly violated international law.
Recommended Citation
Berramdane, Abdelkhaleq
(1990)
"American Military Actions Against Libya and International Law,"
Revue Marocaine de Droit, d'Economie et de Gestion (Moroccan Journal of Law, Economics and Management): Vol. 9:
Iss.
2, Article 13.
https://doi.org/10.66499/2665-7112.1641
Available at:
https://scholarhub.univh2c.ma/remadeg/vol9/iss2/13
DOI
10.66499/2665-7112.1641