Preclusion of Wrongfulness of the Use of Force.

This contribution, stemming from a presentation made at the Conference 'Sir Hersch Lauterpacht - Lawyer of Two Cultures', organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law of the University of Cambridge on 5-6 November 2008, addresses the current debate on the legality of the use of force in international relations. More specifically, it considers the possibility and applicability of the 'preclusion of wrongfulness' argument with respect to the use of force. It is argued that although circumstances precluding wrongfulness were never expressly invoked in the context of the use of force, such a possibility may be worth consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]