The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that international legal considerations played a vital role in the Cuban Missile Crisis All major areas of legal considerations are discussed, including both an American and Soviet perspective. An analysis of the American approach to the crisis exemplifies the participation of various departments of the Executive )branch, Congress, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, and the President. The approach by the Soviet Union in justifying the deployment of offensive nuclear weapons and the Kremlin's objection to the U. S. quarantine of Cuba were influenced by legal considerations. The time period that this study encompasses is August 1962 through October 1962, a period much'longer than is usually associated with the crisis.