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45 Mil. L. & L. War Rev. 355 (2006)
A Missed Opportunity to Clarify the Modern Ius Ad Bellum: Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo

handle is hein.journals/mllwr45 and id is 355 raw text is: A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO CLARIFY THE MODERN IUS AD BELLUM: CASE CONCERNING ARMED ACTIVITIES ON THE TERRITORY OF THE CONGO Sten VERHOEVEN Assistant, Institute of International law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) Pages In tro d u ctio n .......................................................................................................... 3 5 5 I. Ju s ad B ellum ................................................................................................... 3 5 6 1. Consent and Ceasef ire Agreem ents ....................................................... 356 2. The Issue of Self-defence ........................................................................ 358 3. Other Issues concerning the Use of Force ............................................ 360 I1. J u s in B e llo ...................................................................................................... 3 6 1 1. B elligerent O ccupation ............................................................................. 361 2. Exploitation of Natural Resources .......................................................... 362 C o n c lu s io n ........................................................................................................... 3 6 3 Introduction On 19 December 2005, the International Court of Justice (hereinafter the Court) condemned Uganda for violations of international law committed against the Democratic Republic of Congo (hereinafter DRC), in particular for breaches of the prohibition of use of force and of international humanitarian and human rights law. Furthermore, the Court upheld one of the counter-claims of Uganda, namely that the DRC had failed to protect the Ugandan embassy and diplomatic staff and had unlawfully seized goods belonging to the mission and the ambassador. The judgment, although necessarily limited to the DRC and Uganda, was cast against the background of a complex set of internal and international armed conflicts in the Great Lakes Region, already having its roots in the regime of Mobutu Ssese Seko. Consequently, the Court had to take into account the larger framework of the conflict in the Great Lakes Region, with its shifting alliances, massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by all actors and distil the relevant facts of the case without losing track of the larger picture. Both parties have provided ample documented evidence of alleged violations of international law. Nevertheless, despite this, it has been doubted that the Court has succeeded in correctly assessing all the facts. This contribution, however, will not discuss this aspect of the judgment but instead focus on the legal dicta of the Court in this case, in particular concerning the law of the use of force, (I) and belligerent occupation, including in relation to the exploitation of natural resources (ii). 355

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