Origins of the right of self-defence in international law : from the Caroline Incident to the United Nations Charter / by Tadashi Mori ; translated by Jonathan Bloch.

Front Matter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part 1: Re-formation of Perspectives -- Chapter 1: Framework of the Conventional Debate -- Chapter 2: Great Confusion over the Right of Self-Defence: The Caroline Incident Revisited -- Part 2: Two Distinct Concepts -- Chapter 3: The Right of Self-Defence before World War i -- Chapter 4: The Right of Self-Defence as it Developed in the Inter-war Period -- Part 3: The Pre-1945 Right of Self-Defence -- Chapter 5: The Relationship between the Two Conceptions of Self-Defence -- Chapter 6: The Right of Self-Defence in the Travaux Préparatoires of the United Nations Charter -- Conclusion.

This book examines a long-standing dispute regarding the prerequisite for the exercise of the right to self-defence and aims to offer a possible better alternatives for interpreting the significance of the precondition provided for in the Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, by taking a historical perspective on the development of that concept from the mid-19th century to 1945. The book defines the right of self-defence as understood in and before 1945, suggesting the typology which represents the strata of the concept. It will contribute to the current debate regarding the right of self-defence in contemporary international law, including that against terrorism, by providing a framework to analyse the state practice since 1945.