Part 1 The Cold War Era (1945–89), 30 The Falklands/Malvinas War—1982

Subject(s):

Self-defence — Precedent — Armed conflict — Collective security — UN Charter

This chapter discusses the application of jus contra bellum in the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict. After briefly setting out the relevant facts and summarizing the positions of the main protagonists of the conflict as well as the UN Security Council and General Assembly and other member states, it analyzes the legal issues raised by the application of Article 2(3), 2(4) and 51 of the UN Charter, before evaluating the precedential value of the case. Special attention is paid to the alleged right to use military force for the recovery of pre-colonial titles, to the thesis of the exhaustion of the obligation to settle international disputes peacefully and to the relationship between collective security and self-defence, especially in light of the cessation of hostilities ordered by UN Security Council Resolution 502 (1982).