Devdeep Ghosh & Astha Pandey write about the usual democratic dilemmas in justifying a murder by putting special reference on cases targeting killings under International Law.

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors seek to introduce the reader to the practice of targeted killing with an emphasis on the under-theorized ‘unwilling and unable’ test. The wide leeway afforded to an aggrieved state to exercise force within the territory of another under the umbrage of the test leaves great potential for misuse and undermines any effort at bilateral co-operation between the victim state and the state from whose territory the belligerent non-state actor operates. The article suggests the inclusion of certain parameters which, if imbibed into the test, would serve as a measured and more nuanced approach – one that would encourage cooperation at all stages and minimize the chances of any extraterritorial act precipitating into armed conflict between the victim states and the territorial state.