International Law and Diplomacy in the Libyan Civil War

The Libyan civil war presented questions for international law and diplomacy never encountered before in a non-international armed conflict. Alongside problems common to civil wars in general, such as recognition of the contesting parties, access to state property abroad, and non-intervention, the Libyan conflict contained several unique aspects: the elaborate UN, US, and EU sanctions regime and its effect on Libya's sovereign wealth fund (the Libyan Investment Authority), the referral of the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court, and the open calls for regime change. These elements raised complex and unique political and international law issues.

Adopting a similar approach to Norman J. Padelford's seminal 1939 book, International Law and Diplomacy in the Spanish Civil Strife, this book presents thirty case studies, providing a detailed legal assessment of each of the key issues of international law and diplomacy raised by the conflict. It focuses on the practical legal problems with which government legal advisers and diplomats were concerned during the civil war, many of which have received little public attention. The book also includes an overview of the Libyan civil conflict as a whole, and a public international law obituary of Muammar Qadhafi, which examines his most prominent actions and their impact on international law. The book also investigates how the Libyan civil war was utilized as a laboratory for the testing of the new 'responsibility to protect' doctrine, raised in deliberations among the United Nations Security Council members. For the first time, the Security Council authorized states to get involved in a civil war and to use 'all necessary measures' to enforce a no-fly zone and to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack. This book is important reading for scholars, students, and practitioners concerned with the interaction between law and diplomacy in times of armed conflict

Stefan Talmon, Co-Director, Institute of International Law, and Professor of Law, University of Bonn

Professor Stefan Talmon is Chair of Public Law, International Law, and European Law at the University of Bonn. Prior to his appointment to Bonn he was Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford (2003-2011). Professor Talmon is an English barrister with Chambers at 20 Essex Street, London, and advises states and international companies on questions of international law.

1. Introduction
2. Return or Retain? Libyan Fighter Jets in Malta
3. De-Recognition of Colonel Qadhafi as Head of State of Libya?
4. Dangerous Rescue Missions
5. Tea with the Queen or the Super-Speedy Implementation of Sanctions in the United Kingdom
6. Indication of a No-Fly Zone over Libya by the International Court of Justice
7. The De Facto Suspension of the Treaty of Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation between Italy and Libya
8. The Difference between Rhetoric and Reality: The Representation of Libya in the United States
9. A Draft in Two Parts: The Drafting of Resolution 1973 (2011)
10. Resolution 1973, the All Necessary Measures Formula and the Rule of Law
11. Libya`s De-facto Suspension from the United Nations
12. The Recognition of Interlocutors, Representatives, and Governments
13. Formal Recognition of Governments: A New (Old) British Recognition Policy
14. Mr Fox Looking for a Hotel and the Principle of Non-Intervention
15. Non-international, international, and internationalized armed conflict and back again
16. The Arms Embargo at Sea or the Imposition of a Naval Blockade
17. How to Enforce a Non-Existing Oil Embargo
18. Investigating Qadhafi in Germany: A Plan Fraught with Good Intentions
19. The Security Council Legislates for Individuals
20. The Struggle for Libyan Banknotes in the United Kingdom
21. Suspension of the Libyan-Swiss Arbitral Proceedings
22. How to Freeze the Assets of the Libyan Investment Authority?
23. Ambiguity as Strategy: The Sanctions Imposed on Libya
24. Outsmarting Smart Sanctions: The Abolition of Libyan Port Charges
25. Use and Abuse of the Persona Non Grata Rule in Diplomatic Law
26. Squatters or New Diplomats: The Handing over of Libyan Embassies to the NTC
27. Diplomatic Relations with Insurrectional Movements
28. Downgrading of Diplomatic Relations with Repugnant Regimes
29. The African Union and the Unconstitutional Change of Government in Libya
30. The Right of Diplomatic Missions to Fly the Flag of their Choice
31. The Execution of a POW
32. Muammar Qadhafi: A Public International Law Obituary