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Full-Text Articles in Law

21st Century Arms Control Challenges: Drones, Cyber Weapons, Killer Robots, And Wmds, Mary Ellen O'Connell Aug 2016

21st Century Arms Control Challenges: Drones, Cyber Weapons, Killer Robots, And Wmds, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

The world faces tough arms control challenges from preventing the development and use of weapons of mass destruction to regulating the new weapons of the computer revolution. This article considers what works in arms control. Using military force in violation of international law to destroy nuclear facilities, to stop weapons shipments, or to punish the use of prohibited weapons typically fails. Diplomacy paired with lawful counter-measures has the superior track record. Reviving the art of diplomacy and re-committing to authentic international law will pay dividends in peace and security.


To Kill Or Capture Suspects In The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

To Kill Or Capture Suspects In The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

Presents a speech by law professor Mary Ellen O'Connell, delivered at the Case Western Reserve School of Law's War Crimes Research Symposium, February 28, 2003. Legal implications of pursuing terror suspects using military action by the U.S. government; Components of armed conflict; Analysis of the United States' involvement in the internal armed conflict in the Philippines.


The Choice Of Law Against Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

The Choice Of Law Against Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

The Obama administration has continued to apply the wartime paradigm first developed by the Bush administration after 9/11 to respond to terrorism. In cases of trials before military commissions, indefinite detention, and targeted killing, the U.S. has continued to claim wartime privileges even with respect to persons and situations far from any battlefield. This article argues that both administrations have made a basic error in the choice of law. Wartime privileges may be claimed when armed conflict conditions prevail as defined by international law. These privileges are not triggered by declarations or policy preferences.


The Legal Case Against The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

The Legal Case Against The Global War On Terror, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.


Lawful Self-Defense To Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

Lawful Self-Defense To Terrorism, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.


Banning Autonomous Killing, Mary O'Connell Nov 2013

Banning Autonomous Killing, Mary O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

Scientific research on fully autonomous weapons systems is moving rapidly. At the current pace of discovery, such fully autonomous systems will be available to military arsenals within a few decades, if not a few years. These systems operate through computer programs that will both select and attack a target without human involvement after the program is activated. Looking to the law governing resort to military force, to relevant ethical considerations, as well as the practical experience of ten years of killing using unmanned systems (drones), the time is ripe to discuss a major multilateral treaty banning fully autonomous killing. Current …


Elihu Root And Crisis Prevention, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

Elihu Root And Crisis Prevention, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.


American Exceptionalism And The International Law Of Self-Defense, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

American Exceptionalism And The International Law Of Self-Defense, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.


Continuing Limits On Un Intervention In Civil War, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

Continuing Limits On Un Intervention In Civil War, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.


The End Of Legitimacy, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

The End Of Legitimacy, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

No abstract provided.


Preserving The Peace: The Continuing Ban On War Between States, Mary Ellen O'Connell Nov 2013

Preserving The Peace: The Continuing Ban On War Between States, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Mary Ellen O'Connell

The history of international law is, in large part, about the development of restraints on states' right to resort to force in dealing with external conflicts. Today, states may use force only in self-defense to an armed attack or with Security Council authorization. Even in these cases, states may use force only as a last resort, and then only if doing so will not disproportionately harm civilians, their property, or the natural environment. These rules restricting force are found in treaties (especially the United Nations Charter), customary international law, and the general principles of international law. In other words, the …