The Juridical and Legal Foundations of Legitimate Defense outside the Borders

Based on the principles of Islamic jurisprudence and the principles adopted in international law, legitimate defense is limited to the geographical boundaries of a country, and defending outside the geographical boundaries has always been the subject of controversy among intellectuals. In this research, the legitimacy of defense outside the border in two areas of self-defense and defense of others, by exploring the jurisprudential foundations (verses, narrations, reason and consensus), and the principles of international law (written international sources, legal doctrine and wisdom) has been studied. The study of valid jurisprudential sources and lawyers' opinions in the international law as well as the international practice and procedure shows that in the field of defending others, examples such as defending allies, interference with invasion or consent of the invading country (with due regard to legal requirements), based on Islamic principles and the rules of international law are justifiable and in the Islamic law the legitimacy of such matters as defending the Islamic lands; defending Muslims and oppressed nations, is undeniable. The legitimacy of a pre-emptive defense (self-defense outside of the borders), where the possibility of damages, decisive or imminent, is accompanied by solid evidence, and the use of force to defend itself against that danger is a must, based on the (rationale) Islamic and the doctrine of some lawyers has been accepted. In both areas of defense of others and self-defense, the legitimacy of defense outside the border in exceptional cases (while respecting the restrictions on the use of force) can be proven.