The Use of Armed Force as a Response to Terrorist Attacks in the Context of the Right to Self-Defence

Sa？etak The subject of this paper is an analysis of the limitations of the legality of the use of armed force by States as a response to terrorist attacks committed by terrorist groups as non-State actors. A special emphasis is placed on the international legal framework which prescribes prerequisites for the use of armed force in the implementation of the right to self-defence. Modifications in the interpretation of the right to self-defence, initiated by a rising number of terrorist attacks, tend to justify the use of armed force in self-defence against non-State actors, which is not in accordance with international law. The author critically examines the expanded interpretation of the right to self-defence and proposes that other instruments be applied in accordance with the international legal framework, which States led by the UN Security Council can use in response to terrorist attacks