Iraq strike illegal without UN consent, says Law Society paper

3.00pm

A United States-led war against Iraq conducted without United Nations authorisation would breach international law, an Auckland District Law Society paper says.

US President George W Bush has warned that tomorrow would be "a moment of truth for the world".

He confirmed that Tuesday (NZ time) would be the last day a US-backed resolution to authorise war could be voted on at the UN Security Council.

The law society's public issues committee, in a paper issued before Mr Bush's ultimatum, said "aggressive war" was no longer among lawful means of conducting international relations.

It said the UN Charter eliminated war not waged in self-defence, although it did allow collective self-defence and action to restore international peace.

"Any act of war that is not permitted is therefore unlawful," the committee said.

"No country is above these legal restrictions, which are the product of centuries of jurisprudential evolution."

The committee comprises a group of lawyers appointed by the law society to consider issues of public interest.

It noted that the Bush Administration's doctrine had moved on from the Cold War strategy of deterrence.

Pre-emptive strikes were being promoted against terrorists and states with weapons of mass destruction, "yet international law has not changed".

"The world community prescribes only limited circumstances in which offensive military action may occur," the committee said.

It added that a US-led attack on Iraq might be designed to force compliance with UN resolutions over disarmament.

But if the attack were not authorised by the Security Council, it would place the international security system in grave peril.

- NZPA

Herald Feature: Iraq