Military Intervention by Consent: Remarks

My comments will address not only consensual uses of force in an armed conflict paradigm, but also a variety of other uses of force inside another state's territory with consent, such as renditions and targeted killings. I want to examine the effect that the use of consent has on the international law ecosystem. In my view, consent has both positive and negative effects on this ecosystem. I do not plan to come down on one side or the other in assessing the overall balance; instead, I simply will identify consent's effects. Nor am I focused on the quality of the consent given by the territorial state; I will assume that the consent is technically sound.