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Full-Text Articles in International Humanitarian Law
Manifestly Unlawful: Why Russian Military Commanders Must Disobey A Nuclear Launch Order Against Ukraine, Christopher J. Hart
Manifestly Unlawful: Why Russian Military Commanders Must Disobey A Nuclear Launch Order Against Ukraine, Christopher J. Hart
International Law Studies
Applying the international legal framework governing the use of nuclear weapons to the facts of the war in Ukraine leads to a clear answer to the question of whether the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine by Russia would be legal. While the 1996 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons did not conclusively decide whether the use of nuclear weapons was per se illegal, by applying the legal framework articulated by the International Court of Justice to the facts of Russia’s war against Ukraine it is clear that any conceivable use of …
Command Accountability For Ai Weapon Systems In The Law Of Armed Conflict, James Kraska
Command Accountability For Ai Weapon Systems In The Law Of Armed Conflict, James Kraska
International Law Studies
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in weapon systems enhances the ability of operational forces to fuse multispectral sensors to understand the warfighting environment, positively identify, track, and select targets, and engage them with the most appropriate effects. The potential for AI to help close the “kill chain” has raised concern that this creates a gap in accountability between the decisions of humans and the acts of machines, with humans no longer accountable for decisions made during armed conflict. This study suggests that there is no gap because the military commander is always directly and individually accountable for the employment …
The (Erroneous) Requirement For Human Judgment (And Error) In The Law Of Armed Conflict, Eric Talbot Jensen
The (Erroneous) Requirement For Human Judgment (And Error) In The Law Of Armed Conflict, Eric Talbot Jensen
International Law Studies
One of the most intriguing and important discussions in international law is the potential impact of emerging technologies on the law of armed conflict (LOAC), including weapons that incorporate machine learning and/or artificial intelligence. Because one of the likely characteristics of these advanced weapons would be the ability to make decisions implicating life and death on the battlefield, these discussions have highlighted a fundamental question concerning the LOAC: Does the law regulating armed conflict require human input in selecting and engaging targets or can that decision be made without human input? This article analyzes views expressed by scholars and NGOs, …
Classification Of Cyber Capabilities And Operations As Weapons, Means, Or Methods Of Warfare, Jeffrey T. Biller, Michael N. Schmitt
Classification Of Cyber Capabilities And Operations As Weapons, Means, Or Methods Of Warfare, Jeffrey T. Biller, Michael N. Schmitt
International Law Studies
Despite several persistent controversies regarding how international law applies to cyber operations during an armed conflict, general understanding of the law in this domain is maturing. Reasoning by analogy to non-cyber application and interpretation of international law underlies much of the progress. Yet, although preexisting normative structures and legal terminology enable legal advisors and scholars to usefully draw upon previously acquired experience and understanding, there are obstacles to definitive analogizing that result from fundamental differences between cyber and kinetic operations. The number of imperfect analogies that underlie some of the normative uncertainty in the field underscores this point.
One key …
Weapons Review Obligation Under Customary International Law, Natalia Jevglevskaja
Weapons Review Obligation Under Customary International Law, Natalia Jevglevskaja
International Law Studies
Under Article 36 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, States are required to review new weapons for their compliance with international law. While recent discussions on the regulation of lethal autonomous weapons systems under the auspices of the UN Certain Conventional Weapons Convention increasingly emphasize the importance of national weapons review mechanisms, Article 36 is known to be implemented only by a handful of States. Some legal scholars have nonetheless argued that the Article 36 obligation has attained customary international law status. Remarkably, substantive analysis of State practice and opinio juris required to evidence that certain …
Space Weapons And The Law, Bill Boothby
Space Weapons And The Law, Bill Boothby
International Law Studies
Outer space is of vital importance for numerous civilian and military functions in the modern world. The idea of a space weapon involves something used, intended or designed for employment in, to or from outer space to cause injury or damage to the enemy during an armed conflict. Non-injurious, non-damaging space activities that adversely affect enemy military operations or capacity, though not involving the use of weapons, will nevertheless be methods of warfare. Article III of the Outer Space Treaty makes it clear that international law, including weapons law, applies in outer space. Accordingly, the superfluous injury/unnecessary suffering and indiscriminate …
Chemical Weapons And Other Atrocities: Contrasting Responses To The Syrian Crisis, Tim Mccormack
Chemical Weapons And Other Atrocities: Contrasting Responses To The Syrian Crisis, Tim Mccormack
International Law Studies
Why has the use of chemical weapons in Syria engendered such a substantive multilateral response in stark contrast to almost every other egregious international law violation perpetrated against the civilian population? Various theories have been offered but the explanation has little to do with humanitarian concerns for Syrian victims and is more readily explicable by unusual (in the Syrian context) alignment of U.S. and Russian national interests. Bashar al-Assad was convinced to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention, to surrender his stockpiles of chemical weapons and to co-operate with international investigators deployed under UN Security Council auspices amid a cacophony …
Syria: Can International Law Cope? Workshop Report, Christopher M. Ford
Syria: Can International Law Cope? Workshop Report, Christopher M. Ford
International Law Studies
The Stockton Center for the Study of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College and the Center for the Rule of Law at the U.S. Military Academy convened a three-day workshop in November 2015. The workshop sought to examine the question posed by its title: Can International Law Cope with the Situation in Syria? It is a question that has ramifications for the viability of international law well beyond the confines of events in Syria. This report surveys the key issues that were raised during the workshop and serves as an introduction to the articles that follow in this …
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 …
Regulation-Tolerant Weapons, Regulation-Resistant Weapons And The Law Of War, Sean Watts
Regulation-Tolerant Weapons, Regulation-Resistant Weapons And The Law Of War, Sean Watts
International Law Studies
The historical record of international weapons law reveals both regulation-tolerant weapons and regulation-resistant weapons, identifiable by a number of criteria, including effectiveness, novelty, deployment, medical compatibility, disruptiveness and notoriety. This article identifies these criteria both to explain and inform existing weapons law, and also to facilitate efforts to identify weapons and emerging technology that may prove susceptible to future law of war regulation. By charting both the history and methodology of weapons law with a view toward identifying forces and influences that have made some weapons susceptible to international regulation and made others resistant, this article offers a starting point …
Emerging Technologies And Loac Signaling, Eric Talbot Jensen
Emerging Technologies And Loac Signaling, Eric Talbot Jensen
International Law Studies
As States seek to weaponize new technologies such as robotics, cyber tools and nanotechnology, the current law of armed conflict (LOAC) that guides the employment of existing weapons will signal rules and principles that should guide national decisions on what new technologies to weaponize and how to do so in a way that ensures compliance with battlefield regulation. LOAC has served this "signaling" function historically with respect to innovative weapon systems such as balloons, submarines, airplanes, and nuclear weapons, and will continue to do so as nations look forward to potentially weaponizing emerging technologies.
Nanotechnology And The Future Of The Law Of Weaponry, Hitoshi Nasu
Nanotechnology And The Future Of The Law Of Weaponry, Hitoshi Nasu
International Law Studies
Novel applications of nanotechnology for military purposes are expected to have a transformative impact on the way in which wars can be fought in the future battlespace, with the potential to drive changes to the law of weaponry. This article considers the potential of military applications of nanotechnology to bring changes to the existing principles and rules of weapons law. It specifically focuses on the likelihood that more sophisticated, miniaturized and tailored weapons and weapon systems will be produced that enable mechanical precision of targeting with no or few civilian casualties.
Mind The Gap: Can Developers Of Autonomous Weapons Systems Be Liable For War Crimes?, Tim Mcfarland, Tim Mccormack
Mind The Gap: Can Developers Of Autonomous Weapons Systems Be Liable For War Crimes?, Tim Mcfarland, Tim Mccormack
International Law Studies
A recurrent response to the development of increasingly autonomous weapons systems involves questions of accountability for serious violations of the law of armed conflict. Opinion is divided across a spectrum ranging from claims of an accountability vacuum and consequent calls for a complete ban to assertions that the weapons will present no new challenges and that the existing legal framework is capable of adaptation to emerging technologies. This article focuses on the expanded role played by developers of autonomous weapons systems. It describes the novel contributions made by developers of these advanced systems that raise the potential for them to …
Methods And Means Of Cyber Warfare, William H. Boothby
Methods And Means Of Cyber Warfare, William H. Boothby
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Law Of State Responsibility In Relation To Border Crossings: An Ignored Legal Paradigm, Louise Arimatsu
The Law Of State Responsibility In Relation To Border Crossings: An Ignored Legal Paradigm, Louise Arimatsu
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Road Ahead: Gaps, Leaks And Drips, Michael J. Glennon
The Road Ahead: Gaps, Leaks And Drips, Michael J. Glennon
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.
Keeping The Cyber Peace: International Legal Aspects Of Cyber Activities In Peace Operations, Jann K. Kleffner, Heather A. Harrison Dinniss
Keeping The Cyber Peace: International Legal Aspects Of Cyber Activities In Peace Operations, Jann K. Kleffner, Heather A. Harrison Dinniss
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Classification Of Cyber Conflict, Michael N. Schmitt
Classification Of Cyber Conflict, Michael N. Schmitt
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Cyber War And International Law: Does The International Legal Process Constitute A Threat To U.S. Vital Interests?, John F. Murphy
Cyber War And International Law: Does The International Legal Process Constitute A Threat To U.S. Vital Interests?, John F. Murphy
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.
Cyber Warfare: Implications For Non-International Armed Conflicts, Robin Geiss
Cyber Warfare: Implications For Non-International Armed Conflicts, Robin Geiss
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Cyber Road Ahead: Merging Lanes And Legal Challenges, Kenneth Watkin
The Cyber Road Ahead: Merging Lanes And Legal Challenges, Kenneth Watkin
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Geography Of Armed Conflict: Why It Is A Mistake To Fish For The Red Herring, Geoffrey S. Corn
Geography Of Armed Conflict: Why It Is A Mistake To Fish For The Red Herring, Geoffrey S. Corn
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Cyber War And International Law: Concluding Remarks At The 2012 Naval War College International Law Conference, Yoram Dinstein
Cyber War And International Law: Concluding Remarks At The 2012 Naval War College International Law Conference, Yoram Dinstein
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Role Of Counterterrorism Law In Shaping Ad Bellum Norms For Cyber Warfare, William Banks
The Role Of Counterterrorism Law In Shaping Ad Bellum Norms For Cyber Warfare, William Banks
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Networks In Non-International Armed Conflicts: Crossing Borders And Defining "Organized Armed Groups", Peter Margulies
Networks In Non-International Armed Conflicts: Crossing Borders And Defining "Organized Armed Groups", Peter Margulies
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
An Australian Perspective On Non-International Armed Conflict: Afghanistan And East Timor, Rob Mclaughlin
An Australian Perspective On Non-International Armed Conflict: Afghanistan And East Timor, Rob Mclaughlin
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
Combating Terrorist: Legal Challenges In The Post-9/11 World, Nicholas Rostow
Combating Terrorist: Legal Challenges In The Post-9/11 World, Nicholas Rostow
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.
The Changing Character Of Public Legal Scrutiny Of Operations, Rob Mclaughlin
The Changing Character Of Public Legal Scrutiny Of Operations, Rob Mclaughlin
International Law Studies
No abstract provided.