[Book Review] "The Use of Force and International Law" by Christian Henderson

The law on the use of force, or the jus ad bellum, is one of the most fundamental and controversial areas of international law. Over the last decade, there has been a large increase in the volume of scholarship dealing with this body of law, reflected in the creation of new, specialist journals such as the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law (JUFIL). As co - editor in chief and one of the founders of JUFIL, Christian Henderson is well placed to explore the intricacies and uncertainties of the law on the use of force. His latest book, The Use of Force and International Law, is “targeted at students, academics and practitioners” and “aims to provide a contemporary introduction to international law governing the resort to force”. While Henderson notes that “space does not permit the depth of detail and discussion that the subject deserves”, he nevertheless manages to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the law and the contemporary challenges it faces , one which establishes this work as more than just a textbook introducing students to this important area of law Henderson argues that although uncertainty and disagreement persists over the scope and application of the UN Charter provisions and customary principles governing the use of force, “there exists no general appetite amongst states for either the scrapping, rewriting or radical reinterpretation of the rules. 3 Instead, he contends that, to date, the jus ad bellum has proved to be flexible enough to accommodate new technological developments ( e.g. cyber - attacks) and security challenges (e.g. threats from non - state actors)