Collective Self-Defense or Collective Security? Japan's Reinterpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution

• Author: Jaemin Lee
• Pages: 373-374

Japan’s Collective Self-Defense 373

VIII JEAIL 2 (2015)

Jaemin Lee

∗

The concept of self-defense takes such an important place in the UN Charter and

international law. The concept of collective self-defense should also be interpreted and

applied within the clear parameters of stated principles of the UN Charter. This is

not a concept that can be elastically applied so as to cover a wide range of instances

that require military action by like-minded States acting in response to contingent

 

at the moment, however, seems to involve issues larger than or beyond the traditional

concept of self-defense. Arguably, some aspects of the issues posed seem to fall under

the collective security realm which is reserved to the authority of the UN Security

Council or which at least requires authorization or delegation from the Security

Council. Using the term collective self-defense to address a wide spectrum of military

contingencies to be tackled by collective security regime may not square with the

provisions of the UN Charter.

Keywords

Self-Defense, Collective Self-Defense, Collective Security, UN Security

Council, Chapter VII Enforcement Action

Collective Self-Defense or

Collective Security?

Japan’s Reinterpretation of

Article 9 of the Constitution

∗ Associate Professor of Law at Seoul National University School of Law. LL.B./LL.M./Ph.D. (Seoul Nat’l U.); LL.M.

(Georgetown); J.D. (Boston College). ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4738-6583. This research was supported

by the 2015 Research Fund of the Seoul National University Law Research Institute, with the charitable donation of

the Seoul National University Law Foundation. The author may be contacted at: jaemin@snu.ac.kr / Address: Seoul

National University School of Law, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742 Korea.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2015.8.2.04

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