Law Commons^™

Operation Nation-Building: How International Humanitarian Law Left Afghanistan Open On The Operating Table, Nina Griscelli

University of Miami Law Review

Military campaigns often carry with them official names and underpinning objectives. In Afghanistan, these campaigns were known as Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, and later, in 2015, as Operation Freedom Sentinel. In total, the United States and its allies remained in Afghan territory for 7,268 days, twenty years, in support of the “Global War on Terror.” Within that time, the democratic construction of a “free” Afghan society—also known as nation-building, regime change, or transformative military occupation—deeply transformed the status quo of the population. To the West, “Operation Nation-Building” became the most strategic and “hopeful alternative to the vision of the …

World War I And The Armenian Genocide: Laying The Groundwork For Crimes Against Humanity, Julia Koch

Pace International Law Review

For all of its advancements in international law, including delivering justice to the war criminals of the Second World War, the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg has long been tainted with accusations of victors’ justice and criticized for violating the principle of nullem crimen sine lege. Such is the case for crimes against humanity, a crime that did not exist in positive international law until the 1945-46 legal proceedings in Nuremberg. But the historiography of the First World War—an era where punishment for war crimes is generally viewed as a wholesale failure—provides an additional, indeed novel, basis for understanding …

Securing The Precipitous Heights: U.S. Lawfare As A Means To Confront China At Sea, In Space, And Cyberspace, Garret S. Bowman

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Lieber Code: A Historical Analysis Of The Context And Drafting Of General Orders No. 100, Alexander H. Mindrup

The Cardinal Edge

During the American Civil War, the United States changed in dramatic fashion. The national crisis of the Civil War encompassed all aspects of the United States. In 1862, a forward-thinking German American intellectual named Francis Lieber lobbied the Lincoln administration to update the United States laws of war. On April 24, 1863, President Lincoln issued General Orders No. 100 or “Instructions for the Government of the Armies of the United States in the Field.” General Orders No. 100, better known as the Lieber Code, modernized the United States laws of war. Not only that, but the Lieber Code traveled across …

An International Legal Consideration Of The Issues On Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems Including Nanomachine: A Perspective Of International Law Studies In Japan, Hiroshi Saito

Japanese Society and Culture

This paper aims to explore the legal issues on the use of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). This study is based on the recent research trend in Japan regarding studying the relationships between the international humanitarian law and the international law of human rights. The paper seeks to apply the integration theory to the relationship of both laws. As a result, this idea can pave the way for suppressing the usage of LAWS in future armed conflicts. Since the use of LAWS may lead to immense injury to fundamental human rights, it is necessary to adopt the integration theory to …

Self-Defense To Cyber Force: Combatting The Notion Of 'Scale And Effect', Thomas Eaton

Scholarly Works

The ability to reach out, with a few keystrokes or a couple lines of code, through the interconnected world of cyberspace and create militarily advantageous effects 10,000 miles away has changed warfare as previously conceived, perhaps more than any other advancement in any other domain of war. Cyber weapons are weapons, and whatever law applies to conventional weapons equally applies to cyber weapons. Long before cyber operations were even science fiction, there was much debate over what constituted a use of force that would justify force in response. In many ways, the debate over what constitutes cyber-attacks has been pasted …

Multilateralism, Pushback, And Prospects For Global Engagement?, Michael Donald Kirby The Honourable

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In this article, the author draws on long engagement with multilateralism, both in domestic jurisdiction and international institutions. He describes the growth of post-War United Nations activities and the increasing impact of international law, including on universal human rights. He records international initiatives on global problems like HI V/AIDS and in individual countries, such as Cambodia and North Korea. He then describes recent examples of '"pushback" against multilateralism, especially on the part of the United States, the United Kingdom, some European countries, and Australia. He concludes with illustrations and reasons why the global community should remain optimistic about multilateralism, despite …

The Legal Dilemma Of Guantánamo Detainees From Bush To Obama, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.

The Legal Dilemma Of Guantanamo Detainees From Bush To Obama, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

The stage for the Guantanamo detainees’ commission proceedings was set by the interplay between the Executive’s detention powers and the Judiciary’s habeas powers. The Bush administration turned to Congress to provide less than what was required by the court, instead of the minimum deemed necessary to comply with each decision, or to explore another legal argument for not complying. This article examines how the law for the Guantanamo detainees has been shaped by the US courts and by Congress. The article begins by observing the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court for compliance with the constitutional and humanitarian law requirements, …

The Kahan Report, Ariel Sharon And The Sabra-Shatilla Massacres In Lebanon: Responsibility Under International Law For Massacres Of Civilian Populations, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.

Human Rights In The Middle East, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of The Law Of War, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.

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 …

Unequal Enforcement Of The Law: Targeting Aggressors For Mass Atrocity Prosecutions, Nancy Amoury Combs

Nancy Combs

It is a central tenet of the laws of war that they apply equally to all parties to a conflict. For this reason, a party that illegally launches a war benefits from all the same rights as a party that must defend against the illegal aggression. Countless philosophers have shown that this so-called equal application doctrine is morally indefensible and that defenders should have more rights and fewer responsibilities than aggressors. The equal application doctrine retains the support of legal scholars, however, because they reasonably fear that applying different rules to different warring parties will substantially reduce overall compliance with …

Understanding Crime Gravity: Exploring The Views Of International Criminal Law Experts, Stuart Ford

Stuart Ford

No abstract provided.

Understanding Crime Gravity: Exploring The Views Of International Criminal Law Experts, Stuart Ford

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Bemba Appeals Chamber Judgment: Impunity For Sexual And Gender-Based Crimes?, Susana Sácouto, Patricia Viseur Sellers

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Human Rights In International Criminal Proceedings—The Impact Of The Judgment Of The Kosovo Specialist Chambers Of 26 April 2017, Göran Sluiter

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

By their very nature, international criminal tribunals will in their operation impact individual rights, such as the right to liberty and the right to a fair trial. Without a constitution and without a history in developing due process norms, international criminal tribunals have to provide for instant incorporation of human rights in their respective criminal proceedings.

However, the circumstances under which international criminal tribunals are established are often complex, while at the same time their creation is considered to be a matter of urgency. As a result, there may not always be sufficient attention to human rights law’s position and …

Unequal Enforcement Of The Law: Targeting Aggressors For Mass Atrocity Prosecutions, Nancy Amoury Combs

Faculty Publications

It is a central tenet of the laws of war that they apply equally to all parties to a conflict. For this reason, a party that illegally launches a war benefits from all the same rights as a party that must defend against the illegal aggression. Countless philosophers have shown that this so-called equal application doctrine is morally indefensible and that defenders should have more rights and fewer responsibilities than aggressors. The equal application doctrine retains the support of legal scholars, however, because they reasonably fear that applying different rules to different warring parties will substantially reduce overall compliance with …

Kavanaugh And The Military Commissions: Reading The Law “As Written” For An Unpopular Defendant, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Use Of Force At The Gaza Border: A Hybrid Approach To Tactical Challenges, Geoffrey Corn, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Why A President Cannot Authorize The Military To Violate (Most Of) The Law Of War, John C. Dehn

William & Mary Law Review

Waterboarding and “much worse,” torture, and “tak[ing] out” the family members of terrorists: President Trump endorsed these measures while campaigning for office. After his inauguration, Trump confirmed his view of the effectiveness of torture and has not clearly rejected other measures forbidden by international law. This Article therefore examines whether a President has the power to order or authorize the military to violate international humanitarian law, known as the “law of war.” Rather than assess whether the law of war generally constrains a President as Commander-in-Chief, however, its focus is the extent to which Congress requires the U.S. military to …

The Contributions Of United Nations Security Council Resolutions To The Law Of Non-International Armed Conflict: New Evidence Of Customary International Law, Gregory H. Fox, Isaac Jenkins, Kristen E. Boon

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Cyber Strategy & Policy: International Law Dimensions, Matthew C. Waxman

Faculty Scholarship

Important international law questions for formulating cyber strategy and policy include whether and when a cyber-attack amounts to an “act of war,” or, more precisely, an “armed attack” triggering a right of self-defense, and how the international legal principle of “sovereignty” could apply to cyber activities. International law in this area is not settled. There is, however, ample room within existing international law to support a strong cyber strategy, including a powerful deterrent. The answers to many international law questions discussed below depend on specific, case-by-case facts, and are likely to be highly contested for a long time to come. …

The Common Law Of War, Jens David Ohlin

William & Mary Law Review

In recent litigation before U.S. federal courts, the government has argued that military commissions have jurisdiction to prosecute offenses against the “common law of war,” which the government defines as a body of domestic offenses, such as inchoate conspiracy, that violate the American law of war. This Article challenges that definition by arguing that stray references to the term “common law of war” in historical materials meant something completely different. By examining the Lieber Code, the writings of early natural law theorists, and early American judicial decisions, this Article concludes that the “common law of war” referred to a branch …

Rape And Sexual Violence: Questionable Inevitability And Moral Responsibility In Armed Conflict, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Wartime sexual violence is a critical human rights issue that usurps the autonomy of its victims as well as their physical and psychological safety. It occurs in both ethnic and non-ethnic wars, across geographic regions, against both men and women, and regardless of the “official” position of commanders, states, and armed groups on the use of rape as tactic of war. This problem is current, pervasive, and global in spite of the status of wartime sexual violence perpetration as a crime against humanity and the capacity of the international criminal court to indict offenders. Though some scholars have argued that …

Prosecuting Child Soldiers: The Call For An International Minimum Age Of Criminal Responsibility, Brittany Ursini

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note discusses the current state of international law on the MACR and proposes a solution that balances the protection of child soldiers with the rights of the victims harmed by their unlawful conduct. Part I of this Note provides a brief background of child soldiers and closely examines the relevant international law addressing the criminal responsibility of child soldiers. Part II illustrates the deficiencies of current international law and describes how the deficiencies affect and contribute to the competing arguments regarding a MACR. Part III discusses the need for an international MACR. Finally, Part IV proposes an international …

Targeted Killing: A Legal And Political History, Markus Gunneflo

Markus Gunneflo

Looking beyond the current debate’s preoccupation with the situations of insecurity of the second intifada and 9/11, this book reveals how targeted killing is intimately embedded in both Israeli and US statecraft and in the problematic relation of sovereign authority and lawful violence underpinning the modern state system. The book details the legal and political issues raised in targeted killing as it has emerged in practice including questions of domestic constitutional authority, the norms on the use of force in international law, the law of targeting and human rights. The distinctiveness of Israeli and US targeted killing is accounted for …

Loac And Artillery In Urban Areas: The Case Of Gaza 2014, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Protecting Vulnerable Environments In International Humanitarian Law, Michaela Halpern

Michaela S. Halpern