diff --git a/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py b/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py
index f278d91b..28fcdc84 100644
--- a/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py
+++ b/launch_ros/launch_ros/actions/composable_node_container.py
@@ -77,7 +77,13 @@ def __init__(
                 )
             namespace = node_namespace
 
-        if not namespace:
+        if name is None:
+            raise RuntimeError("'name' is a required argument")
+
+        if namespace is None:
+            raise RuntimeError("'namespace' is a required argument")
+
+        if namespace == '':
             namespace = '/'
         super().__init__(name=name, namespace=namespace, **kwargs)
         self.__composable_node_descriptions = composable_node_descriptions