This is part of a series of posts discussing the UK Attorney General's speech on the Modern Law of Self-Defence. See also the other posts in the series by Monica Hakimi and Marko Milanovic. It’s a pleasure to be able to contribute to this EJIL:Talk! discussion of the speech…

Dr James A. Green is lecturer in law at the University of Reading School of Law. The prohibition of the unilateral use of force, as set out most crucially in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, is often seen as the archetypal example of a jus cogens norm. Certainly, an overwhelming majority of scholars…