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Full-Text Articles in Law
Neutrality And Outer Space, Wolff Heintschel Von Heinegg
Neutrality And Outer Space, Wolff Heintschel Von Heinegg
International Law Studies
This article discusses the law of neutrality as it pertains to belligerent operations in and through outer space as well as belligerent outer space operations involving the territory and national airspace of neutral States. As far as the latter is concerned, the traditional law of neutrality is fully applicable. Accordingly, international law prohibits belligerents from launching space objects from neutral territory or through neutral national airspace. While neutral States may not provide belligerents with outer space assets or the use of communications infrastructure located in their territories, they are not obliged to prevent their nationals from providing any of the …
Individual, Not Collective: Justifying The Resort To Force Against Members Of Non-State Armed Groups, Anthony Dworkin
Individual, Not Collective: Justifying The Resort To Force Against Members Of Non-State Armed Groups, Anthony Dworkin
International Law Studies
This article proposes an alternative to the conventional way of deciding when a State may target or detain members of an armed group. Instead of asking whether there is an armed conflict between the State and the group, this article argues that we should look at the State’s justification for the use of force against the group or its members. In a non-international context, this justification is rooted in human rights law. For this reason, the authorization for the resort to force operates on an individual basis, and the State is only justified in using force against individual members of …
Autonomous Weapons And Weapon Reviews: The Uk Second International Weapon Review Forum, James Farrant, Christopher M. Ford
Autonomous Weapons And Weapon Reviews: The Uk Second International Weapon Review Forum, James Farrant, Christopher M. Ford
International Law Studies
This article considers how military lawyers completing weapon reviews might approach their legal duties if confronted with a weapon system that incorporates autonomous technology or artificial intelligence. The article begins by reviewing current and likely near future technological capabilities before considering whether existing international humanitarian law can adequately regulate these technologies. While noting the widespread lack of compliance with Article 36 of Additional Protocol I, the article argues that, properly applied, Article 36 is an effective gatekeeper for keeping unlawful weapon systems from the battlefield. After assessing the feasibility of a preemptive ban on autonomous weapons based on “meaningful human …
The Conduct Of Hostilities And International Humanitarian Law: Challenges Of 21st Century Warfare, International Law Association Study Group On The Conduct Of Hostilities In The 21st Century
The Conduct Of Hostilities And International Humanitarian Law: Challenges Of 21st Century Warfare, International Law Association Study Group On The Conduct Of Hostilities In The 21st Century
International Law Studies
The International Law Association Study Group on the Conduct of Hostilities in the 21st Century was established in 2011 and held its first meeting in 2012. The Study Group has explored numerous issues arising from the relationship between international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law in the conduct of military operations, technological challenges posed by new weapons systems, and the basic principles of IHL in the conduct of hostilities. In 2015, the Study Group established three working groups focusing on core issues within IHL in relation to the conduct of hostilities in modern warfare. These working group topics …
The Future Of U.S. Detention Under International Law: Workshop Report, International Committee Of The Red Cross (Icrc), Harvard Law School Program On International Law And Armed Conflict (Hls Pilac), Stockton Center For The Study Of International Law (U.S. Naval War College)
The Future Of U.S. Detention Under International Law: Workshop Report, International Committee Of The Red Cross (Icrc), Harvard Law School Program On International Law And Armed Conflict (Hls Pilac), Stockton Center For The Study Of International Law (U.S. Naval War College)
International Law Studies
The International Committee of the Red Cross Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada, the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, and the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College recently hosted a workshop titled Global Battlefields: The Future of U.S. Detention under International Law. The workshop was designed to facilitate discussion on international law issues pertaining to U.S. detention practices and policies in armed conflict. Workshop participants included members of government, legal experts, practitioners and scholars from a variety of countries. This report attempts to capture the …
Fragmented Wars: Multi-Territorial Military Operations Against Armed Groups, Noam Lubell
Fragmented Wars: Multi-Territorial Military Operations Against Armed Groups, Noam Lubell
International Law Studies
Recent years have seen the emergence of significant legal debate surrounding the use of force against armed groups located in other States. With time, it has become clear that in many cases such operations are not confined to the territory of one other State, but expand to encompass multiple territories and often more than one armed group. This article examines multi-territorial conflicts with armed groups through the lens of several legal frameworks. Among other topics, it analyses the questions surrounding the extension of self-defense into multiple territories, the classification of the hostilities with the group and between involved States, the …
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 …
The Updated Commentary On The First Geneva Convention – A New Tool For Generating Respect For International Humanitarian Law, Lindsey Cameron, Bruno Demeyere, Jean-Marie Henckaerts, Eve La Haye, Heike Niebergall-Lackner
The Updated Commentary On The First Geneva Convention – A New Tool For Generating Respect For International Humanitarian Law, Lindsey Cameron, Bruno Demeyere, Jean-Marie Henckaerts, Eve La Haye, Heike Niebergall-Lackner
International Law Studies
Since their publication in the 1950s and the 1980s respectively, the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 have become a major reference for the application and interpretation of these treaties. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), together with a team of renowned experts, is currently updating these Commentaries in order to document developments and provide up-to-date interpretations. The work on the first updated Commentary, the Commentary on the First Geneva Convention relating to the protection of the wounded and sick in the armed forces, has already been finalized. This article provides …
Combat Losses Of Nuclear-Powered Warships: Contamination, Collateral Damage And The Law, Akira Mayama
Combat Losses Of Nuclear-Powered Warships: Contamination, Collateral Damage And The Law, Akira Mayama
International Law Studies
There have been non-combat losses of nuclear-powered warships during sea trials and peacetime patrol missions. Nuclear contamination is spreading from some of these sinking sites. It is also conceivable that combat losses of nuclear-powered warships could cause contamination of civilians, civilian objects and the natural environment. If such combat losses occur at sea, both belligerent and neutral States will have to deal with a difficult question: to what extent and by who can harm resulting from such contamination be compensated for payment of damages. This article examines legal issues stemming from prospective combat losses of nuclear-powered warships from the perspectives …
A Human Rights Perspective To Global Battlefield Detention: Time To Reconsider Indefinite Detention, Yuval Shany
A Human Rights Perspective To Global Battlefield Detention: Time To Reconsider Indefinite Detention, Yuval Shany
International Law Studies
This article discusses one principal challenge to detention without trial of suspected international terrorists—the international human rights law (IHRL) norm requiring the introduction of an upper limit on the duration of security detention in order to render it not indefinite in length. Part One of this article describes the “hardline” position on security detention, adopted by the United States in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks (followed, with certain variations, by other countries, including the United Kingdom and the State of Israel), according to which international terrorism suspects can be deprived of their liberty without trial for the …
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 …
Detention By Armed Groups Under International Law, Andrew Clapham
Detention By Armed Groups Under International Law, Andrew Clapham
International Law Studies
Does international law entitle armed groups to detain people? And what obligations are imposed on such non-state actors when they do detain? This article sets out suggested obligations for armed groups related to the right to challenge the basis for any detention and considers some related issues of fair trial and punishment. The last part of this article briefly considers the legal framework governing state responsibility and individual criminal responsibility for those that assist armed groups that detain people in ways that violate international law.