David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what working definition of imminence his Department uses in the application of article 51 of the UN Charter.

Penny Mordaunt

It has long been the position of successive UK Governments that "the inherent right of self-defence", as recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter, does not require a State to wait until an armed attack is actually under way before it can lawfully use force to alleviate the threat. A State may use force in anticipation of an armed attack where such an attack is imminent, provided that such force is both necessary and proportionate to averting the threat. The assessments would depend on the facts of each case, with consideration likely to include issues such as the nature and immediacy of the threat, the probability of an attack, its scale and effects and whether it can be prevented without force.