Military Action with Consent
Tue 25 Nov
|Ottawa
Challenging the Friend/ Enemy Distinction in the International Legal Framework on Cross-Border Interventions
Time & Location
25 Nov 2025, 17:00 – 18:30
Ottawa, 75 Laurier Ave E, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
About the Event
The International Law Association of Canada is pleased to co-sponsor University of Ottawa's International Law Group panel on Military Action with Consent: Challenging the Friend/ Enemy Distinction in the International Legal Framework on Cross-Border Interventions.
Panel Abstract:
This panel explores the evolving legal landscape surrounding “military action with consent”—also known as “intervention by invitation” or “military assistance on request”—and the significant doctrinal, practical, and normative questions it raises in international law. Specifically, the panel will examine instances of cross-border military operations justified by the consent of the territorial State, which can blur the line between friendly engagement and aggressive force in international law.
Over the past decade, several military operations have relied—explicitly or implicitly—on this legal rationale. These include the French intervention in Mali (2012–2022), the U.S.-led coalition operations against ISIS in Iraq (2014–ongoing), the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (2015–ongoing), and Russian and Iranian support for the Assad regime in…