A threat is a declaration of intention to inflict punishment or harm on another. It will often be conditional upon a particular course of action on the part of the recipient.

The threat can have a form of an explicit or implicit message.

It can also be any source of probable impending danger (e.g. "a terrorist threat"), or a warning of an impending danger.

International law

A definition of threat between States, attributed to British lawyer Ian Brownlie, is that: A state is a set of institutions that possess the authority to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. ...

a threat of force consists of an express or implied promise by a government of a resort to force conditional on non-acceptance of certain demands of that government.^[1][2]

The 1969 Vienna convention on the Law of Treaties notes in its preamble that both the threat and the use of force are prohibited. Moreover, in Article 52, it establishes the principle that if threats of using force are made during diplomatic negotiations, then any resulting treaty is invalid, stating "A treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations." 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

See also

• Imminent threat

Imminent threat is a standard criteria in international law, developed by Daniel Webster, for when the need for action is instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation. ...

References

1. ^ International Law and the Use of Force by States, Ian Brownlie, CBE, QC, FBA, March 26, 1963, Oxford University Press
2. ^ Submission by Aidan O’Neill QC, Aidan O'Neill QC