Kosovo and NATO: Selected Issues of International Law

Abstract:

NATO's military intervention in Yugoslavia has raised several issues of international law. Are there legal justifications for overriding the traditional principle of international law that states are free to order their internal affairs as they see fit without outside interference? Do its actions comport with the Charter of the United Nations? Is its engagement in an out-ofarea conflict that is not a response to an armed attack on one of its members permissible under the North Atlantic Charter? This report examines those issues. It will be updated as events warrant.