Remarks by Robert Taylor

Extract

The use of armed force inside the territory of a country is a matter that involves the rights and responsibilities of the territorial state. Control over the use of force is a fundamental aspect of the state's sovereignty. With respect to other states, it is the territorial state that has rights. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter provides that “[a]ll Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” This obligation extends from one state to another state. The government of the territorial state might have obligations under the domestic law of that state to defend its territory, or to prohibit the use of force by any other state within its territory, but any such obligation is not a matter of international law and another state is not bound or limited by such domestic law provision.