Resumen de The Meaning of “Force” and the Boundaries of the Jus ad Bellum: Are “Minimal” Uses of Force Excluded from UN Charter Article 2(4)?

Tom Ruys

• Are there forcible acts that, because of their small scale or confined purposes, are not prohibited by UN Charter Article 2(4)? Some acts that might fall below a supposed “gravity threshold” are small-scale armed confrontations or counterterrorist operations, targeted killings, forcible abductions of single individuals, and hostage rescue operations. This article argues that no gravity threshold applies to Article 2(4) and that small-scale acts remain covered by the prohibition on using force. In addition to potentially enabling states to invoke various “grounds precluding wrongfulness” to justify an expanding range of small-scale forcible acts, excluding such acts from the scope of Article 2(4) is conceptually confused and inconsistent with customary practice.