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45 Rev. BDI 241 (2012)
The Resolution of the Institut de Droit International on Military Assistance on Request

handle is hein.journals/belgeint45 and id is 241 raw text is: REVUE BELGE DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL 2012/1 - Editions BRUYLANT, Bruxelles THE RESOLUTION OF THE INSTITUT DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL ON MILITARY ASSISTANCE ON REQUEST PAR Georg NOLTE* ABSTRACT The article describes how the Institut de Droit International has dealt with the question of military assistance on request, or intervention upon invitation by the established government, at its session in 2011 (Rhodes), taking into account the previous debates and resolutions by the Institut on the topic at its sessions in NeuchAtel (1900) and Wiesbaden (1975). Some emphasis is put on the context of the debates at the Rhodes session, which is the preceding and parallel treat- ment of other aspects of the law on the use of force. The most important fea- ture of the debate in Rhodes is analyzed in detail, which is the contrast between the practice- oriented approach of the Rapporteur, Mr. Gerhard Hafner (whose reports tended to favor the permissibility of military assistance on request) and the resistance against this approach by a group of members who emphasized the right of self-determination and general policy considerations. The article con- cludes that the resolution which was ultimately adopted is characteristic for the time of its adoption insofar as it avoids taking a position with regard to certain controversial questions, despite a contrary impression, and thereby represents a minimum consensus. The Institut de droit international has recently adopted, at its Rhodes session 2011, a resolution on military assistance on request. (1) The per- missibility of direct military assistance by the sending of armed forces by one State to another State upon the latter's request (Article 1 a) of the Resolution) is a disputed question since the time of Grotius. It is sufficient to mention the Holy Alliance, the Hungarian uprising in 1848/49, the Ame- rican and Spanish Civil Wars, and well-known super power interventions during the Cold War (Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, the * Professeur h la Humboldt Universitat Berlin. (*) I thank my colleagues Pierre d'Argent, of the Secretariat of the Institut, for providing me with the drafts of the proceedings before their publication, and Helmut Aust, Berlin, for helpful comments. (1) 10th Commission- Sub-group C, PLENIERE, 8 September 2011.