The NATO air war against Yugoslavia was illegal, unnecessary and a failure, according to a pamphlet published in London by the Center for Policy Studies, a British right-wing think tank.

Referring to the Charter of the United Nations, Mark Littman, the author of the book, said it is generally agreed that the use of force is prohibited unless in self-defense or under the authority of the UN Security Council.

Neither of the two reason was cited by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The military action between March and June was justified on humanitarian grounds, Littman said.

Littman accused the British Government of using a legal technicality to brush aside proceedings brought against several members of NATO by Yugoslavia at the International Court of Justice in April.

"Given the weight of opinion and legal authority against the NATO position, the paucity of evidence in its favor" and Britain's "reluctance" to test its view before the International Court of Justice, "it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the NATO action was illegal," Littman said.

Littman also draws attention to the cost of the war, which he puts at 61 billion pounds(about 98 billion US dollars), or "the equivalent of 50,000 dollars for every man, woman or child in Kosovo." (Xinhua)