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The Kosovo Crisis and Nato's Application of Armed Force Against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

2000; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 49; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0020589300064186

1471-6895

Dino Kritsiotis,

Global Peace and Security Dynamics

In the fifth week of NATO's 78–day aerial intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), the FRY initiated proceedings in the International Court of Justice against ten of its member States which it accused of violating the principles of international law in relation to the jus ad bellum and the jus in bello . 1 NATO's action, known as Operation Allied Force, had commenced on the night of 24 March 1999 when cruise missiles were directed on Serbian targets located in the Kosovan capital of Pristina and in the Republic's capital of Belgrade. 2 This robust application of armed force came on the eve of the 50th anniversary of NATO, an organisation which was established after the Second World War for the collective defence of its member States, and constituted the first offensive launched against another sovereign State in the organisation's entire history.