Former Attorney General says Iraq Invasion is Illegal
dublin |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press 
Friday June 09, 2006 15:42
by Dave Donnellan
daviddonnellan at eircom dot net
Iraq Invasion has weakened the power of international law to prevent war
In a detailed article in the February issue of Irish Law Times, Declan Costello, the former Attorney General and former President of the High Court claims the Iraqi War is illegal. In the article, Costello backs the assertion made by the UN Secretary General, made in September 2004, that the invasion of Iraq was illegal, saying it "has strong and comprehensive legal arguments to support it".
The article traces the history of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions from the invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 when resolution 678 was passed authorising the use of force to expel Iraq from Kuwait and restore the peace and security broken by the invasion. He conclude by saying “It is important that it be widely appreciated that the invasion has weakened the power of international law to prevent war and that there should be widesperead discussion by the international legal community as to how its effects may be minimised”