Technological change and the evolution of the law of war

2015 ◽  
Vol 97 (900) ◽  
pp. 1157-1177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rain Liivoja
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Military Technology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
History Of International Law ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAdvances in military technology have led many, including the developers of such technology, to propose new regulation. International lawyers have extensively examined the adequacy of the existing law to address emerging technology, but they have devoted relatively little attention in these analyses to the prior development of the law as a result of, or despite, technological change. This essay highlights two challenges that those wishing to undertake such an exercise might encounter. The first of these is the general paucity of serious engagement with the history of international law applicable in armed conflicts and the perpetuation of a particular “origin myth” of international humanitarian law. The second challenge has to do with the controversies about the impact of technology on society in general, and the impact of military technology on warfare in particular. Nevertheless, the essay concludes by pointing towards some of the insight that might be gained from a more history-conscious analysis of the relationship between technology and law in the military context.

scholarly journals Defining war crimes: a look to the prosecution by international criminal judicial bodies

2020 ◽  
pp. 427-433
Author(s):  
Alovsat Allahverdiyev
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
International Law ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Military

The article is dedicated to the overview of the scope and application of international prosecution on war crimes. Although theterm “war crimes” is not a new concept in international law, different approaches exist in defining the precise limits of it. War crimesare always considered as one of the primary challenges and pecularities minimizing the whole efficiency of international law. Nevertheless,not all known prosecutions on war crimes ended with success. In traditional international law war crimes are always related tomilitary or armed conflicts what may be international or non-international conflict. History of international humanitarian law demonstratesthat almost all of the military conflicts were associated with war crimes. However, international law was not able to buil upstrong judicial mechanisms for the prosecution of war crimes for a long time. Modern type of international prosecution over war crimescan be linked to military tribunals established after World War I. At the same time, we should not forget that most of war crimes committedbefore and during WWI still remain unpunished. These problems demand new conceptual approach to the understanding of warcrimes as well as methodology of international prosecution. We know that first military tribunals were of quasi-international character.Although modern international law contains fully international military tribunals, still there are a lot of cases of failure to punish warcrimes. We need to understand that being a type of international crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes can be committed outsidethe active period of war. Thus, there is a need to re-define again the scope and subject matter of war crimes. On the other hand,prosecution of war crimes should be studied apart from other international law violations, human rights in particular.

Tracing the Historical and Legal Development of the Levée en Masse in the Law of Armed Conflict

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Legal Development ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law

Levée en masse – the spontaneous uprising of the civilian population against an invading force – has long been a part of the modern law of armed conflict with regard to determining who may legitimately participate in armed conflict. The concept originated during the revolutionary wars in America and France, and was incorporated into the first codified rules of armed conflict. However, despite the prevalence of the category of levée en masse in the modern laws of armed conflict, there have been few, if any, instances of levée en masse taking place in modern armed conflicts. This article examines how and why the category of levée en masse developed. In doing so, this article situates the concept and evolution of levée en masse within the history of international humanitarian law more generally.

Prospects for United States Ratification of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions

1991 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
George H. Aldrich
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Military

Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, concluded in Geneva in 1977, is the most important treaty codifying and developing international humanitarian law since the adoption of the four Conventions themselves; and it is the first such treaty since 1907 to deal with methods and means of warfare and the protection of the civilian population from the effects of warfare. As such, its contributions to the law were long overdue and, on the whole, are both positive from the humanitarian point of view and practicable from the military point of view. Moreover, it offers the prospect of improved compliance with international humanitarian law, which would greatly benefit the victims of war and would bring the law in action closer to the law in the books. Yet, in January 1987, the President of the United States informed the Senate that he would not submit the Protocol to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification, calling it “fundamentally and irreconcilably flawed.” It is apparent that President Reagan’s decision resulted from misguided advice that exaggerated certain flaws in the Protocol, ignored the statements of understanding that would have remedied them, and misconstrued a humanitarian and antiterrorist instrument as one that could give aid and comfort to “terrorists.”

scholarly journals Armed drones: can civilians be protected?

2020 ◽  
pp. 229-247
Author(s):  
Vincas Šniutė ◽  
Danas Šniutė
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Military Technology ◽  
Difficult Decision ◽  
The Military

Armed drone is a military technology that is being used not only for surveillance but also in combat operations. In some military operations the distinctive technological features of drones offer an advantage compared to manned aircraft. Most of the military operations which are conducted by drones fall under Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II). The use of military drones in non-international armed conflicts causes many legal problems in the international humanitarian law, concerning the protection of civilians. Nevertheless, armed drones are legal under international humanitarian law. The most relevant principles of international humanitarian law concerning the use of armed drones are distinction and proportionality. These principles can be fulfilled more effectively by drone operators because of the advanced technology of drones. However, the use of armed drones in real life operations usually violate the international humanitarian law and its core principles. Thus, existing regulation cannot protect the lives of civilians. Additional regulation of armed drones at the UN level could create international legal mechanism which would protect the civilians. However, the current political situation, as well as the difficult decision-making procedures at the UN institutions, suggest that future legal regulation is not likely to be enacted anytime soon.

Human Rights in War: On the Entangled Foundations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boyd van Dijk
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of International Law ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross Fertilization

AbstractThe relationship between human rights and humanitarian law is one of the most contentious topics in the history of international law. Most scholars studying their foundations argue that these two fields of law developed separately until the 1960s. This article, by contrast, reveals a much earlier cross-fertilization between these disciplines. It shows how “human rights thinking” played a critical generative role in transforming humanitarian law, thereby creating important legacies for today's understandings of international law in armed conflict.

scholarly journals Armed conflicts as a source of new formations in the Russian language (on material of the armed conflict in Donbass)

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The South ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Russian Language

The vocabulary of a language is a variable quantity, it is constantly changing, responding to the needs of life and reflecting its new realities. The events taking place in the South-East of Ukraine since March 2014 have significantly changed the usual picture of the world of the parties involved in this conflict, led to a new interpretation of reality, the emergence of new mental constructs, objectified in the language using a number of lexical innovations, most of which fall under the definition of „hate speech”. The purpose of this article is to try to examine the impact of the armed conflict in the South-East of Ukraine on the emergence of lexical innovations in the Russian language, to identify ways of forming new units and their main thematic clusters. The material for the work was neoplasms recorded in electronic Russian and Russian-speaking Ukrainian mass media, as well as selected from social networks and videos. The analysis showed that in the context of the armed conflict in the South-East of Ukraine, the characteristic manifestations of „hate speech” are mainly numerous new categories-labels with a pronounced conflict potential. The priority in this regard is offensive and derogatory nominations of representatives of the opposite camp, taking into account their worldview / ideological, national / ethnic, territorial / regional characteristics. The military jargon has also undergone a significant update, incorporating not only the reactualized slangisms of the era of the Afghan campaign of 1979-89, but also lexical innovations caused by the military and political realities of the current armed conflict in the Donbas. Neologisms are formed in accordance with the existing methods in the Russian language (word formation, semantic derivation, borrowing). At the same time, non-standard word-forming techniques are also used (language play, homophony, etc.).

scholarly journals EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF «ARMED CONFLICT»: HISTORICAL, LEGAL AND THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-26
Author(s):  
Oleksandra Severinova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Modern World ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Methodological Aspects

The article analyzes the theoretical and methodological aspects of the formation and development of doctrinal ideas about the meaning of the concept of «armed conflict» in the history of world political and legal thought. The question of the name of the branch of law that regulates armed conflict, by analyzing its historical names such as «law of war», «laws and customs of war», «law of armed conflict», «international humanitarian law» and «international humanitarian law, used in armed conflicts». As a result of this analysis, it can be concluded that it would be most appropriate to use the terms «international humanitarian law» only in a narrow sense or «international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts», which is more cumbersome but most accurately describes the field. It is emphasized that due to the availability of new powerful weapons (economic, political, informational, cultural and weapons of mass destruction), which are dangerous both for the aggressor and for the whole world; the aggressor's desire to downplay its role in resolving conflicts in order to avoid sanctions from other countries and international organizations, as well as to prevent the loss of its authority and position on the world stage; the attempts of the aggressor countries to establish their control over the objects of aggression (including integrating them into their political, economic and security systems) without excessive damage to them is the transformation of methods and means of warfare. It is determined that the long history of the formation of the law of armed conflict has led to the adoption at the level of international law of the provision prohibiting any armed aggression in the world, which is reflected in such a principle as non-use of force or threat of force. At the same time, the UN Charter became the first international act in the history of mankind, which completely prohibited armed aggression and enshrined this principle at the international level, which is binding on all states of the modern world.

The Use of Vattel in the American Law of Nations

2012 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Law Of Nations ◽  
American Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
History Of International Law

Although careful scholarly treatment of the history of international law is now thriving, within U.S. courts that history now begins with one eighteenth-century treatise published in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1758 and published in translation for modern readers under the aegis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1916. This treatise is Emer de Vattel’s Droit des gens ou principes de la loi naturelle, appliqués à la conduite et aux affaires des nations et des souverains. My aim in this article is to appraise the elevation of Vattel to vaunted originalist heights in U.S. law. The claim that Vattel’s theory of the law of nations completely represents how the Founding Fathers (Founders) understood the law of nations should be rejected as a matter of history.

Music and Censorship in Vietnam since 1954

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barley Norton
Keyword(s):  
Reform Era ◽  
The North ◽  
Vietnamese American ◽  
Cultural Climate ◽  
History Of ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
Conventional Systems ◽  
Cultural Freedom ◽  
The Impact ◽  
North And South

This chapter traces the history of music censorship in Vietnam since 1954 with reference to a broad range of music genres. It discusses music censorship from 1954 to 1975, when Vietnam was divided into North and South. The tight ideological control established by the Vietnamese Communist Party in the North is compared with music movements linked to antiwar protests in the South. The chapter then examines the period of severe censorship following the end of the Vietnamese-American war in 1975 and considers how the cultural climate changed in the reform era after 1986. It highlights the limits of cultural freedom in the reform era and discusses how music censorship has become intertwined with concerns about the effects of globalization on morality and national identity. Finally, the chapter addresses the impact of technology since the late 1990s, paying particular attention to Vietnamese rap and the potential for musicians to use the Internet to bypass conventional systems of state censorship.

The role of the international committee of the red cross in resolving international conflicts

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-161
Author(s):  
Adel Hamzah Othman
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Conflicts ◽  
History Of

The relevance of the problem under study lies in the presence of armed conflicts in the international arena and the presence of a diverse abundance of ways to regulate them. The main purpose of this study is to identify the main provisions of international law applicable in international conflicts through the lens of the role of the Committee of the Red Cross in its development. This study covers and thoroughly analyses the history and the main purpose of the origin of the organisation. Furthermore, the study engages in an in-depth examination of the basic tasks and principles of the Committee's activities. As a result of the study, the existing theories of the participation and influence of the Committee in international legal relations will be clearly identified, as well as those theories that have emerged due to innovations in legal thinking and are capable of covering the specific features of the practice and effectiveness of this non-governmental organisation. In addition, the designation of the actual problems of the existence of this organisation, its relevance in the modern world, and the strength of the support of the world society. Among the successes of the scientific analysis of the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the development of international humanitarian law applicable in international conflicts is the reasoned hypotheses and confirmed statements of the importance of the Committee, which are described by the features of modernity, relevance, and compliance with the information and technological development of social relations of participants in healthy international relations, their supporters and opponents. This also includes the systematisation of scientific research, their analysis and reasonable refutation. A journey into the history of the emergence of international conflicts, their modification according to the development of social relations, as well as the processes of globalisation, will be the subject of comparative analysis aimed at identifying new methods and ways to avoid them

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