TNAG-0716-FCO40-912-Air-hijacking-and-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 40

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or unable to protect their lives.

However such a right of

intervention is controversial and it is by no means generally

accepted that such a right exists under international law.

Furthermore, it is unlikely that the United Kingdom would

obtain much support in the UN for any action it had taken

without the permission of the local State. A decision that

British forces should intervene with anything less than the clear permission of the local State or, still more, where the

local State was opposed, should of course only be taken afbor careful consideration of all the legal, political and practical

issues involved.

3. Mr Judd can agree that the report should be amender 1.

make this explicit. Paragraph 7 already points out the riske

of recriminations afterwards if we had anything less than foll

permission from the host government, but it would be an improvos

ment to spell the more general point, described in this brief,

in paragraph 2 of the report.

27 January 1978

MR Morland

Maritime, Aviation and Environment.

Department

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