Le tyrannicide en droit international

Drawing on practice pertaining to the killing of Saddam Hussein, Hailé Sélassié, Nicolae Ceausescu etc., the paper explores various legal aspects of a tyrannicide in International Law. It expounds more particularly on the legal problems caused by the murder of a head of State from the standpoint of the right to life of the tyran and from the angle of democracy. It also provides some insights from the vantage point of international criminal law. The paper argues that very limited consequences are attached in international law to the tyrannical character of a head of State who is deprived of his life.