Determining the law on the use of force: the ICJ and customary rules on the use of force

The approach of the International Court of Justice to the problem of assessing the existence and contents of customary rules on the use of force in interstate relations is of paramount interest from the legal-methodological point of view of the reconstruction and determination of general international law. The leading cases involving the determination by the ICJ of customary rules on the use of force are Corfu Channel, Nicaragua and the advisory opinion on Legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. The jurisprudence of the ICJ is also very meaningful in the sense that in the above cases, but also in other instances (such as Armed activities on the territory of Congo and Oil Platforms cases) the ICJ has shown an high degree of judicial activism, aimed at not encouraging attempts to legitimize unilateral use of force by States as a means of enforcement of the law.