The Syrian Crisis and the Principle of Non-Intervention in Civil War

The Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015 has raised several legal questions. These questions are generally relating to the legality of the intervention. Although, the Russian Government has based its intervention on the consent of the Syrian Government for combating terrorism, some believes that this intervention is in contradiction with the principle of non-intervention in the civil war. Under this principle the foreign states are not allowed to intervene in the conflict to support neither the central government nor the rebellions. In the 70s, the International Law Institute suggested that this principle has become as a customary rule. However, there is no consensus on the status of this principle as a customary principle of International law. By considering the practice of states and the UN Security Council relating to the Syrian crisis. We can conclude that it is difficult to observe restriction on the intervention in the civil war in support of the central government. While there still exists restrictions on the intervention in support of rebellions, the consent of the central state negates the responsibility of the foreign intervening state against the rebellions and in support of the government.