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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Law
Illustrating Illegitimate Lawfare, Michael A. Newton
Illustrating Illegitimate Lawfare, Michael A. Newton
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
Lawfare that erodes the good faith application of the laws and customs of warfare is illegitimate and untenable. This essay outlines the contours of such illegitimate lawfare and provides current examples to guide practitioners. Clearly addressing the terminological imprecision in current understandings of lawfare, this essay is intended to help prevent further erosion of the corpus of jus in bello. Words matter, particularly when they are charged with legal significance and purport to convey legal rights and obligations. When purported legal “developments” actually undermine respect for the application and enforcement of humanitarian law, they are illegitimate. Although the laws and …
Reconsidering Reprisals, Michael A. Newton
Reconsidering Reprisals, Michael A. Newton
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The prohibition on the use of reprisals is widely regarded as one of the most sacrosanct statements of the jus in bello applicable to the conduct of modern hostilities. The textual formulations are stark and subject to no derogations. Supporters of the bright line ban describe it as a vital bulwark against barbarity. In the words of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the prohibition is absolute, despite the fact that the declarations of key states indicate residual ambiguity over the scope of permissible reprisals, particularly in the context of non-international armed conflicts. Reprisals are a recurring feature of …
Some Observations On The Future Of U.S. Military Commissions, Michael A. Newton
Some Observations On The Future Of U.S. Military Commissions, Michael A. Newton
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The Obama Administration confronts many of the same practical and legal complexities that interagency experts debated in the fall of 2001. Military commissions remain a valid, if unwieldy, tool to be used at the discretion of a Commander-in-Chief. Refinement of the commission procedures has consumed thousands of legal hours within the Department of Defense, as well as a significant share of the Supreme Court docket. In practice, the military commissions have not been the charade of justice created by an overpowerful and unaccountable chief executive that critics predicted. In light of the permissive structure of U.S. statutes and the framework …
Modern Military Necessity: The Role & Relevance Of Military Lawyers, Michael A. Newton
Modern Military Necessity: The Role & Relevance Of Military Lawyers, Michael A. Newton
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
Modern warfare presents an array of legalistic overtones that require the presence and participation of attorneys of exceptional courage and breadth of expertise in demanding and austere conditions. Military lawyers today must confront complex missions and competing operational demands in representing the needs of operational commanders. The legal dimension of conflict has at times overshadowed the armed struggle between adversaries as the nature of conflict itself has changed. The overall mission will often be intertwined with political, legal, and strategic imperatives that cannot accomplished in a legal vacuum or by undermining the threads of legality that bind diverse aspects of …
The Iraqi Special Tribunal: A Human Rights Perspective, Michael A. Newton
The Iraqi Special Tribunal: A Human Rights Perspective, Michael A. Newton
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The creation of the Iraqi Special Tribunal in December 2003 by Iraqi authorities who were at the time under the legal occupation of the Coalition Provisional Authority marked the emergence of a new form of internationalized domestic tribunals. The Iraqis succeeded in incorporating the full range of modern crimes into their domestic codes alongside some carefully selected domestic offenses, while amending domestic procedural law in some key ways to align the process with established international law related to the provision of full and fair trials. The subsequent investigations and the beginning of trial proceedings generated major debates about the legitimacy …
Prosecuting The "Fog Of War?, Christopher D. Booth
Prosecuting The "Fog Of War?, Christopher D. Booth
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
In the Fall of 1999, the Associated Press reported a story of an alleged massacre of Korean civilians, conducted by U.S. troops at the beginning of the Korean War in the hamlet of No Gun Ri. The story had an incendiary effect, both in the United States and abroad. The story of an incident from half-a-century ago caused many to reexamine the conduct of American forces in that war, the current security arrangements in East Asia, the U.S.-R.O.K. relationship, and the wisdom and ability of modem Americans to investigate, evaluate, and judge historical events from our current historical and cultural …
... And Justice For All: Normative Descriptive Frameworks For The Implementation Of Tribunals To Try Human Rights Violators, Gautam Rana
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
With the formation of the Bosnian and Rwandan War Crimes Tribunals, the international community has created a mechanism for the enforcement of human rights law for the first time since the Nuremburg and Tokyo War Trials. The efficacy of these tribunals, however, is in doubt. This Note proposes that only a few human rights are truly universal in nature and can be guaranteed by the international community. Furthermore, the political realities of the international system precludes the use of international tribunals against the more powerful nations of the international community. The Note concludes that by focusing on the human rights …
Killing Egyptian Prisoners Of War: Does The Phrase "Lest We Forget" Apply To Israeli War Criminals?, Scott R. Morris
Killing Egyptian Prisoners Of War: Does The Phrase "Lest We Forget" Apply To Israeli War Criminals?, Scott R. Morris
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
This Article offers an analysis of Israel's response, or lack thereof, to the 1995 admission by Israeli war hero General Ayre Biro that he participated in the slaughter of forty-nine unarmed Egyptian prisoners of war in 1956 during Israel's struggle for independence. While in the past Israel has actively pursued the prosecution of war criminals who committed atrocities against its own people under the battle cry "lest we forget," the country has recently shown a strong reluctance to take action against General Biro for his execution of Egyptian prisoners of war. Specifically, Israel reasons that its statute of limitations for …
The Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal: The Compatibility Of Peace, Politics, And International Law, Karl A. Hochkammer
The Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal: The Compatibility Of Peace, Politics, And International Law, Karl A. Hochkammer
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Since 1991, a brutal war has raged among ethnic groups of the former Yugoslavia. Outraged by the atrocities that have pervaded the war, the United Nations established an international tribunal in 1993 to adjudicate violations of international humanitarian law committed in the Yugoslav conflict. Although well-intentioned, the Yugoslav Tribunal nevertheless may fail to accomplish its goals. A number of practical and legal obstacles may impede its success. In particular, the United Nations lack of physical control over the combatants in the Yugoslav conflict may frustrate the Tribunal's ability to bring accused war criminals to justice. This Note surveys the problems …