Abstract/Summary

The use of force in foreign territories has been contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, with the authorisation of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in ‘cases deemed legitimate by international law’ and where required by international treaties to which Turkey is a party. Yet Turkey’s extraterritorial self-defence operations lead to the most important question of identifying the circumstances under which the Turkish authorities have justified military intervention in foreign territories. This article aims to assess whether Turkey’s use of force and alleged extraterritorial self-defence contravenes international law. In order to address how Turkey interprets the right to use armed force and the right of self-defence, and to bring clarity to Turkey’s approach to jus ad bellum, this article explores Turkey’s practice based on the assessment of the Turkish military intervention in Syria both in line with bilateral treaties to which Turkey is a party, and the use of force in self-defence. The aim is to determine whether Turkey’s justifications are compatible with international law on the use of force.