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International Law

2019

Proportionality

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Military, War, and Peace

Can We Starve The Civilians? Exploring The Dichotomy Between The Traditional Law Of Maritime Blockade And Humanitarian Initiatives, Phillip J. Drew Sep 2019

Can We Starve The Civilians? Exploring The Dichotomy Between The Traditional Law Of Maritime Blockade And Humanitarian Initiatives, Phillip J. Drew

International Law Studies

The contemporary practice of maritime blockade can trace its origins to the Dutch Placaat of 1564, under which the Dutch Navy enforced the closure of Spanish ports to maritime traffic, both inbound and outbound. Although originally designed to stop all military reinforcements from reaching an area, in the ensuing 450 years, blockade has developed into a method of warfare whose effects are primarily economic. As a result of the urbanization of much of the world’s population over the past 200 years, many States have become heavily reliant on imported foodstuffs and commodities, most of which moves by sea. When those …


Proportionality In Counterinsurgency: A Relational Theory, Evan J. Criddle Sep 2019

Proportionality In Counterinsurgency: A Relational Theory, Evan J. Criddle

Evan J. Criddle

At a time when the United States has undertaken high-stakes counterinsurgency campaigns in at least three countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan) while offering support to insurgents in a fourth (Libya), it is striking that the international legal standards governing the use of force in counterinsurgency remain unsettled and deeply controversial. Some authorities have endorsed norms from international humanitarian law as lex specialis, while others have emphasized international human rights as minimum standards of care for counterinsurgency operations. This Article addresses the growing friction between international human rights and humanitarian law in counterinsurgency by developing a relational theory of the use …


Indeterminacy In The Law Of Armed Conflict, Adil Ahmad Haque May 2019

Indeterminacy In The Law Of Armed Conflict, Adil Ahmad Haque

International Law Studies

Controversy and confusion pervade the law of armed conflict. Its most basic rules may seem ambiguous, vague, incomplete, or inconsistent. The prevailing view of customary international law confronts serious problems, in principle and in practice, when applied to the customary law of armed conflict. Legal indeterminacy, in its different forms, might be reduced or resolved in light of the object and purpose of the law of armed conflict, or by taking into account other relevant rules of international law. Unfortunately, the purpose of the law of armed conflict is itself the subject of deep disagreement. So is the relationship between …