Rzhevskaya V. State's Right of Self-Defence within the Developing Context of Legal Guarantees of International Security.

The thesis is devoted to determining the trends of development of the right of self-defense in international law. The origins and history of the international legal concept of self-defense, its sources and place within the present system of international law and order are brought to light. The author analyzes customary and treaty rules which relate to legal basis and limits of individual or collective self-defense. The part, which practice of International Court of Justice and United Nations' Security Council took in developing international legal regulation of self-defense in the second part of the20th century, is stressed. Special attention is paid to the tendencies taken by the states' practices of exercising self-defense in years 1991 - 2001. The impact of those practices upon the legal guarantees of international peace and security taken as an integrated system is pointed out to be of great concern. The author investigates how the search for legal basis of the "Desert Storm" operation led to the appearance of new forms of the peace enforcement activities of the United Nations. The legal aspects of the NATO's peacemaking in Europe after the "cold war" are analyzed as well as the probable consequences of the September 11 2001 terrorist strikes for limits and function of self -defense in international law.