Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
International Humanitarian Law Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 23 of 23
Full-Text Articles in International Humanitarian Law
Cyber Peacekeeping Operations And The Regulation Of The Use Of Lethal Force, Nicholas Tsagourias, Giacomo Biggio
Cyber Peacekeeping Operations And The Regulation Of The Use Of Lethal Force, Nicholas Tsagourias, Giacomo Biggio
International Law Studies
Peacekeeping is an essential tool at the disposal of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security. The growing relevance of cyber technologies presents itself as an opportunity to adapt peacekeeping to the challenges of a rapidly evolving security landscape. This article introduces the notion of "cyber-peacekeeping," defined as the incorporation and use of cyber capabilities by peacekeepers. It discusses the legal basis for cyber-peacekeeping and the foundational principles of consent, impartiality, and use of defensive force. The article examines the use of lethal force by cyber-peacekeepers under the law of armed conflict paradigm. It considers the …
Revisiting Ad Bellum Proportionality: Challenging The Factors Used To Assess It, Yishai Beer
Revisiting Ad Bellum Proportionality: Challenging The Factors Used To Assess It, Yishai Beer
International Law Studies
Traditionally, international law has established a binary distinction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello. The former relates to the right to exercise military force. The latter regulates the conduct of adversaries engaged in an armed conflict. However, the prevailing legal approach doesn't accept this dichotomy. It wants to reduce war's hazards by applying the ad bellum rules, including the proportionality requirement, continuously throughout the conduct of armed conflict. To that end, it has established factors that define the essence of the continuing ad bellum proportionality requirement. This article challenges the near-unanimous consensus regarding these factors. It argues that …
Autonomous Cyber Capabilities Below And Above The Use Of Force Threshold: Balancing Proportionality And The Need For Speed, Peter Margulies
Autonomous Cyber Capabilities Below And Above The Use Of Force Threshold: Balancing Proportionality And The Need For Speed, Peter Margulies
International Law Studies
Protecting the cyber domain requires speedy responses. Mustering that speed will be a task reserved for autonomous cyber agents—software that chooses particular actions without prior human approval. Unfortunately, autonomous agents also suffer from marked deficits, including bias, unintelligibility, and a lack of contextual judgment. Those deficits pose serious challenges for compliance with international law principles such as proportionality.
In the jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and the law of countermeasures, compliance with proportionality reduces harm and the risk of escalation. Autonomous agent flaws will impair their ability to make the fine-grained decisions that proportionality entails. However, a …
Strategic Proportionality: Limitations On The Use Of Force In Modern Armed Conflicts, Noam Lubell, Amichai Cohen
Strategic Proportionality: Limitations On The Use Of Force In Modern Armed Conflicts, Noam Lubell, Amichai Cohen
International Law Studies
The nature of modern armed conflicts, combined with traditional interpretations of proportionality, poses serious challenges to the jus ad bellum goal of limiting and controlling wars. In between the jus ad bellum focus on decisions to use force, and the international humanitarian law (IHL) regulation of specific attacks, there is a far-reaching space in which the regulatory role of international law is bereft of much needed clarity. Perhaps the most striking example is in relation to overall casualties of war. If the jus ad bellum is understood as applying to the opening moments of the conflict, then it cannot provide …
The Unlawfulness Of A “Bloody Nose Strike” On North Korea, Kevin Jon Heller
The Unlawfulness Of A “Bloody Nose Strike” On North Korea, Kevin Jon Heller
International Law Studies
The United States has reportedly been debating whether to "react to some nuclear or missile test with a targeted strike against a North Korean facility to bloody Pyongyang’s nose and illustrate the high price the regime could pay for its behavior." This article asks a simple question: would such a “bloody nose strike” (BNS) violate the jus ad bellum?
Providing a coherent answer is complicated by the lack of clarity surrounding the United States’ planning. In particular, the U.S. government has not specified what kind of provocation it believes would justify launching a BNS, has not identified precisely what …
Twelve Key Questions On Self-Defense Against Non-State Actors, Terry D. Gill, Kinga Tibori-Szabó
Twelve Key Questions On Self-Defense Against Non-State Actors, Terry D. Gill, Kinga Tibori-Szabó
International Law Studies
This article examines the most pertinent questions relating to the applicability of the right of self-defense to attacks conducted by non-State armed groups (NSAGs) acting independently of State control from the territory of one or more States against the territory of another State. These questions are approached from the perspective of legality (does the right of self-defense apply to attacks not mounted by or under the control of a State) and modality (assuming the applicability of self-defense to such attacks; how do the principles of necessity, proportionality and immediacy affect its application)? Starting with an assessment of the place of …
The Limits Of Inviolability: The Parameters For Protection Of United Nations Facilities During Armed Conflict, Laurie R. Blank
The Limits Of Inviolability: The Parameters For Protection Of United Nations Facilities During Armed Conflict, Laurie R. Blank
International Law Studies
This article examines the international legal protections for United Nations humanitarian assistance and other civilian facilities during armed conflict, including under general international law, setting forth the immunities of the United Nations, and the law of armed conflict (LOAC), the relevant legal framework during wartime. Recent conflicts highlight three primary issues: (1) collateral damage to UN facilities as a consequence of strikes on military objectives nearby and military operations in the immediate vicinity; (2) the misuse of UN facilities for military purposes; and (3) direct attacks on fighters, weapons or other equipment that cause damage to such facilities. To identify …
Mapping War Crimes In Syria, Beth Van Schaak
Mapping War Crimes In Syria, Beth Van Schaak
International Law Studies
This article maps the range of war crimes being committed in Syria with reference to the applicable treaty and customary international law and prospects for prosecution. It begins by presenting the international legal framework employed to determine when an armed conflict began in Syria, how this conflict is classified under international law and which multilateral treaties and customary rules are operative. This framework underlies the determination of which war crimes can be prosecuted, which tribunals might have jurisdiction and which perpetrators may be made subject to indictment. The article next focuses on some open legal and factual issues around certain …
Anticipatory Self-Defense In The Cyber Context, Terry D. Gill, Paul A.L. Ducheine
Anticipatory Self-Defense In The Cyber Context, Terry D. Gill, Paul A.L. Ducheine
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Precision Air Warfare And The Law Of Armed Conflict, Christopher J. Markham, Michael N. Schmitt
Precision Air Warfare And The Law Of Armed Conflict, Christopher J. Markham, Michael N. Schmitt
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Belligerent Targeting And The Invalidity Of A Least Harmful Means Rule, Geoffrey S. Corn, Laurie R. Blank, Chris Jenks, Eric Talbot Jensen
Belligerent Targeting And The Invalidity Of A Least Harmful Means Rule, Geoffrey S. Corn, Laurie R. Blank, Chris Jenks, Eric Talbot Jensen
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Self-Defense Targeting: Blurring The Line Between The Jus Ad Bellum And The Jus In Bello, Geoffrey S. Corn
Self-Defense Targeting: Blurring The Line Between The Jus Ad Bellum And The Jus In Bello, Geoffrey S. Corn
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Use Of Unmanned Systems To Combat Terrorism, Raul A. "Pete" Pedrozo
Use Of Unmanned Systems To Combat Terrorism, Raul A. "Pete" Pedrozo
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Law Of Armed Conflict In Asymmetric Urban Armed Conflict, David E. Graham
The Law Of Armed Conflict In Asymmetric Urban Armed Conflict, David E. Graham
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The "Fog Of Law": The Law Of Armed Conflict In Operation Iraqi Freedom, Marc Warren
The "Fog Of Law": The Law Of Armed Conflict In Operation Iraqi Freedom, Marc Warren
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Counterinsurgency And Stability Operations: A New Approach To Legal Interpretation, Dale Stephens
Counterinsurgency And Stability Operations: A New Approach To Legal Interpretation, Dale Stephens
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Laws Of War In The War On Terror, Adam Roberts
The Laws Of War In The War On Terror, Adam Roberts
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Propositions On The Law Of War After The Kosovo Campain, Ruth Wedgewood
Propositions On The Law Of War After The Kosovo Campain, Ruth Wedgewood
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Judging Kosovo: The Legal Process, The Law Of Armed Conflict, And The Commander In Chief, James E. Baker
Judging Kosovo: The Legal Process, The Law Of Armed Conflict, And The Commander In Chief, James E. Baker
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Computer Network Attacks And Self-Defense, Yoram Dinstein
Computer Network Attacks And Self-Defense, Yoram Dinstein
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Law Of War In Historical Perspective, Leslie C. Green
The Law Of War In Historical Perspective, Leslie C. Green
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Forcible Self-Help In International Law, James J. Mchugh
Forcible Self-Help In International Law, James J. Mchugh
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Collective Intervention And The Law Of The Charter, William O. Miller
Collective Intervention And The Law Of The Charter, William O. Miller
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.