(Un)Just war: assessing the legality of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

Abstract

The multi-faction civil conflict in Yemen gained an international status on March 26, 2015 when a coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened at the request of the internationally-recognized Government of Yemen (GoY) to restore its authority and control after the Houthi rebels captured the Capital city Sanaa. However, the intervention was not commenced upon the authorization of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Instead, the GoY and the Coalition states invoked a twofold legal justification – (1) the intervention was launched following an invitation by the GoY, and (2) it constitutes an exercise of Yemen’s right to collective self-defense. The aim of this thesis is to put these two justifications to test by posing the following research question - does the Saudi Arabian military intervention in the ongoing civil war in Yemen comply with the jus ad bellum principle, as codified in international law?