(IL)LEGALITY OF THE THREAT TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: NON LIQUET OR PREJUDICE?

This article examines the legality of the threat to use nuclear weapons within the framework of jus ad bellum and jus in bello. It provides a definition of the threat to use nuclear weapons, which serves as the basis for the subsequent assessment of the legality of such an act. The author consistently analyses the legality of the threat of nuclear weapons in the context of international security law, referring to the relevant Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 1996 and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons of 2017. The main conclusions reached by the Court regarding the threat of the use of nuclear weapons by a state in exercising its right to self-defence in accordance with the UN Charter are noted. In addition, the author draws attention to existing treaty provisions governing the prohibition of the threat of the use of nuclear weapons. The threat of nuclear weapons is analysed within the framework of international humanitarian law, in particular the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons, the 1977 Additional Protocol I, customary international humanitarian law, general principles of law, the mentioned Advisory Opinion of the Court, the position of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and doctrinal sources on the asymmetry of armed conflicts. Based on the analysis of the legal sources listed above, the author concludes that the threat of using nuclear weapons may violate the norms and principles of international humanitarian law. The author also notes that such threats make it difficult to comply with international humanitarian law.