1. Introduction -- Part I. Pre-Charter customary law on self-defence: 2. Self-defence in ancient and medieval natural law -- 3. Self-defence as a measure short of war -- 4. Self-defence as an exception to the prohibition of war -- 5. The right of self-defence and the drafting of the UN Charter -- 6. The temporal dimension of self-defence at the time of the Charter -- Part II. Post-Charter customary law on self-defence: 7. The right of self-defence in the judgments of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals -- 8. Self-defence in state-to-state conflicts -- 9. Self-defence and weapons of mass destruction -- 10. Self-defence against non-state actors -- 11. The interpretation of self-defence and the United Nations -- 12. The temporal dimension of post-Charter self-defence -- Part III. Anticipatory action in self-defence and international customary law: 13. The legality of anticipatory action in self-defence -- 14. The limits of anticipatory action in self-defence