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The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law
Self-determination is a people's right to choose how they will organise and be governed. It is the legal foundation on which a people's struggle for national liberation is based. This dissertation examines how self-determination has developed from a political thought to a legal right in internationa...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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School For Advanced Legal Studies
2026
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| _version_ | 1867614475872370688 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Zikamabahari, Jean de Dieu |
| author2 | Davine, Derry |
| author_browse | Davine, Derry Zikamabahari, Jean de Dieu |
| author_facet | Davine, Derry Zikamabahari, Jean de Dieu |
| author_sort | Zikamabahari, Jean de Dieu |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Self-determination is a people's right to choose how they will organise and be governed. It is the legal foundation on which a people's struggle for national liberation is based. This dissertation examines how self-determination has developed from a political thought to a legal right in international law. It also assesses the legitimacy of the use of force by liberation movements to secure the right of peoples to self-determination. In international practice, self determination has been subject to a conceptual evolution which began in the nineteenth century and accelerated in the 1960's due to the decolonisation process. Today, the principle of self-determination is part of customary international law and it is indisputably a norm of jus cogens. While the concept has been liberally used as a slogan of universal application, its application always seems to be a rather complex matter with several obstacles. Article 2 (4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter laid down an absolute prohibition of the use of force except in case of self-defence or when the UN Security Council (SC) considers the use of force to be the ultimate resort. The Charter does not expressly mention self-determination as a situation where people may resort to the use of force for example against colonial, alien, or oppressive regimes. This dissertation looks at the history of, and circumstance surrounding, the use of force, and then examines the jusadhelium regarding 'wars' of liberation movements. Classical international law treats civil wars as purely internal matters. There was gap m international law in relation to the rule against rebellion. Article 2(4) of the Charter prohibits the threats or use of force by states against states. It is not so clear on the use of force by oppressed peoples in pursuit of self-determination. The idea that colonial or oppressed peoples may legitimately use force in pursuit of self-determination thus remains ambiguous. It is argued that if force was used to deprive peoples of their right to self-determination they would have the right to use force in self-defence. Apart from the Charter, the study analyses a number of resolutions regarding the right of self-determination. It finds that through state practice and opinion juris there is an emerging customary international law regulating the use of force in pursuit of self-determination. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43278 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:52:38.588Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | School For Advanced Legal Studies |
| publisherStr | School For Advanced Legal Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43278 The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law Zikamabahari, Jean de Dieu Davine, Derry public international law Self-determination is a people's right to choose how they will organise and be governed. It is the legal foundation on which a people's struggle for national liberation is based. This dissertation examines how self-determination has developed from a political thought to a legal right in international law. It also assesses the legitimacy of the use of force by liberation movements to secure the right of peoples to self-determination. In international practice, self determination has been subject to a conceptual evolution which began in the nineteenth century and accelerated in the 1960's due to the decolonisation process. Today, the principle of self-determination is part of customary international law and it is indisputably a norm of jus cogens. While the concept has been liberally used as a slogan of universal application, its application always seems to be a rather complex matter with several obstacles. Article 2 (4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter laid down an absolute prohibition of the use of force except in case of self-defence or when the UN Security Council (SC) considers the use of force to be the ultimate resort. The Charter does not expressly mention self-determination as a situation where people may resort to the use of force for example against colonial, alien, or oppressive regimes. This dissertation looks at the history of, and circumstance surrounding, the use of force, and then examines the jusadhelium regarding 'wars' of liberation movements. Classical international law treats civil wars as purely internal matters. There was gap m international law in relation to the rule against rebellion. Article 2(4) of the Charter prohibits the threats or use of force by states against states. It is not so clear on the use of force by oppressed peoples in pursuit of self-determination. The idea that colonial or oppressed peoples may legitimately use force in pursuit of self-determination thus remains ambiguous. It is argued that if force was used to deprive peoples of their right to self-determination they would have the right to use force in self-defence. Apart from the Charter, the study analyses a number of resolutions regarding the right of self-determination. It finds that through state practice and opinion juris there is an emerging customary international law regulating the use of force in pursuit of self-determination. 2026-05-22T11:47:36Z 2026-05-22T11:47:36Z 2010 2026-05-22T11:43:46Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43278 en eng application/pdf School For Advanced Legal Studies Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | public international law Zikamabahari, Jean de Dieu The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law |
| title_full | The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law |
| title_fullStr | The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law |
| title_full_unstemmed | The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law |
| title_short | The right of self-determination and the use of the force in public international law |
| title_sort | right of self determination and the use of the force in public international law |
| topic | public international law |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43278 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zikamabaharijeandedieu therightofselfdeterminationandtheuseoftheforceinpublicinternationallaw AT zikamabaharijeandedieu rightofselfdeterminationandtheuseoftheforceinpublicinternationallaw |