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The text explores the legacy of Professor Krzysztof Skubiszewski on the use of force with special focus on his contribution to the 1969 Manual of Public International Law edited by Professor Max Sørensen, which still serves as a reference in contemporary scholarship. Firstly, an attempt to identify Professor Skubiszewski’s approach to the use of force problems is made. It is claimed that the main feature which makes this approach still attractive is perceiving jus ad bellum in a systemic way. The remaining parts of the text take this approach as a starting point for dealing with contemporary jus ad bellum challenges. Two examples are particularly focused on in this respect: the problem of humanitarian intervention and the challenged inter-State paradigm of the use of force.

In the debate about the question if, when, and how humanitarian interventions can afford peace and justice, military action needs to be taken into consideration. To discuss the meaning of justice in relation to military intervention, conclusions can be drawn from a historical view of the bellum iustum topic, as treated by the Spanish scholars Sepúlveda, Vitoria and Las Casas. Historical analysis reveals the principles both for the ius ad bellum and the ius in bello, that can be found in a recent proposal, the report The Responsibility To Protect (2001) of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS). In addition, for the recovery of justice, a ius post bellum for the prosecution of “crimes against humanity,” as intended by the International Criminal Court (ICC), seems important.