lf from an attack from an exterior foe which is by its very nature unlawful.(58) This right of a nation to engage in defensive military actions has also been upheld by the International Court of Justice in its ruling in the case of Nicaragua v. United States of America. In that case, Nicaragua brought action against the United States for its support of insurgency forces attempting to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The International Court of Justice in its ruling held that the right of a nation to engage in self-defence, as customarily understood, was incorporated into Article 51 of the U.N. Charter.(59) As the Court stated, "in the language of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, the inherent right (or droit naturel) which a State possesses in the event of an armed attack, covers both collective and individual self-defence." B. GENERALLY RECOGNIZED PRINCIPLES OFJUST WAR THEORYAs the proceeding section has demonstrated, just war theory, despite its diverse sources and historical development, has several commonly recognised elements. These elements are traditionally divided into two basic categories which deal with the two basic fundamental issues regarding the legitimacy of war.(60) The first issue, sometimes referred to in Latin as the jus ad bellum (literally, "that which is right or just to engage in resort to war"(61)), concerns when it is appropriate to resort to war as a method of conflict resolution.(62) The second issue, jus in bello (literally, "that which is right or just within war"(63)) deals with what methods of warfare are permissible within the context of a war which meets the criteria of the jus ad bellum.(64) The core elements of the jus ad bellum consist of those principles which were originally recognised by the medieval commentators on just war theory as being most central to the whole doctrine of just war.(65) As elucidated by St. Thomas Aquinas, the core ...
