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From '9-11' to the 'Iraq War 2003': International Law in an Age of Complexity

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Dominic McGoldrick, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Liverpool, has written a fascinating and thoughtful analysis of the wars on terrorism and Iraq. Chapter 1 studies the relationship between war and international law. Chapter 2 looks at the controversy over the Iraq War and concludes that there is `no evidence of any involvement by Iraq' in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Chapter 3 debates the issues of international law and morality raised by the two wars and their implications for human rights. He concludes, "Once prisoners of war were taken and other persons were detained then, in principle, the European Convention on Human Rights came into play on the basis that those persons were within the effective control of the detaining state (assuming it is a state party to the ECHR). The UK submission in Bankovic appeared to concede this point. In relation to a post-conflict situation in Iraq, this was covered by the reference to `effective control of the relevant territory and its inhabitants abroad as a consequence of military occupation'."

Chapter 4 investigates the legality of the Iraq War. McGoldrick cites Professor Vaughan Lowe, "It is simply unacceptable that a step as serious and important as a massive military attack upon a State should be launched on the basis of a legal argument dependent upon dubious inferences drawn from silences in Resolution 1441 and the muffled echoes of earlier resolutions, unsupported by any contemporary authorisation to use force. No domestic court or authority in the United States or the United Kingdom would tolerate governmental action based upon such flimsy arguments." McGoldrick adds, "On the evidence there was no justification under self-defence or humanitarian intervention." He concludes, "the US and the UK acted illegally."

Chapter 5 studies the consequences of the US-British attack for the international legal system. Chapter 6 looks at post-war Iraq's economy and politics and the war's effects on the Middle East. Chapter 7 surveys the two wars' effects worldwide. The book also includes documents from the US and British governments and selected Security Council Resolutions on Iraq.