4 Domains of Warfare

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
McCosker Sarah
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
Over Time

This chapter examines ‘domains’ of warfare, which are generally understood as the operational environments in which armed conflict occurs, and to which international humanitarian law (IHL) therefore applies. Until recent decades, domains of armed conflict have been largely predicated on geospatial conceptions, denoting the physical places where armed conflict has customarily occurred: land, sea, and air. General IHL applies across all these areas—including the fundamental principles of humanity, military necessity, and proportionality; restrictions or prohibitions of certain means and methods of warfare; and basic rules requiring humane treatment of persons and respect for civilians and civilian property. Over time, however, the particular exigencies of land, sea, and air warfare have led to the development of some specific IHL rules and principles tailored to each of those environments. Discussing domains of armed conflict therefore offers a window into the historical development of IHL. It shows how the emergence of new operational environments and new means and methods of armed conflict catalyses efforts at legal regulation, which can lead to the development of new domains or sub-sets of IHL. The chapter then considers how the idea of a domain might apply to armed conflict in outer space, and armed conflict involving cyber operations and other emerging capabilities.

scholarly journals Armed Conflicts in Outer Space

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-357
Author(s):  
Juan Felipe Idrovo Romo
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Dual Use ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Unique Nature ◽  
Rules And Principles

The paper critically explores those scenarios (hypothetical, but probable) in which armed conflicts take place in outer space. First, the problem regarding the definition and delimitation of outer space will be analyzed. In this regard, the reasons why there is no consensus among the States, and even within the scientific community, will be explained. Subsequently, the relevant branches (for the topic) of Public International Law will be introduced (International Space Law, International Humanitarian Law, and Ius ad Bellum) and their key regulations will be identified. At this point, the main reasons why International Humanitarian Law shall be applied in the event that an armed conflict develops in outer space will be explained taking into account PIL formal and auxiliary sources. Likewise, specific challenges, that result from the application of International Humanitarian Law in outer space, will be exposed and analyzed. These challenges include: (i) attacks on dual-use objects; (ii) the obligations of the parties to the conflict when there is human direct or physical participation; and (iii) the applicable regulations for the development and use of new weapons. For each problem raised, possible solutions based on the rules and principles of current law will be provided. Finally, the need for the eventual creation of a specific treaty to regulate the matter will be emphasized, in view of the unique nature of this type of conflict.

scholarly journals The Rule of Surrender in International Humanitarian Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Buchan
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Law Of War ◽  
Legal Development ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
Opposing Force ◽  
State Practice

Under international humanitarian law it is prohibited to make the object of attack a person who has surrendered. This article explores the circumstances in which the act of surrender is effective under international humanitarian law and examines, in particular, how surrender can be achieved in practical terms during land warfare in the context of international and non-international armed conflict. First, the article situates surrender within its broader historical and theoretical setting, tracing its legal development as a rule of conventional and customary international humanitarian law and arguing that its crystallisation as a law of war derives from the lack of military necessity to directly target persons who have placed themselves outside the theatre of armed conflict, and that such conduct is unacceptable from a humanitarian perspective. Second, after a careful examination of state practice, the article proposes a three-stage test for determining whether persons have surrendered under international humanitarian law: (1) Have persons attempting to surrender engaged in a positive act which clearly reveals that they no longer intend to participate in hostilities? (2) Is it reasonable in the circumstances prevailing at the time for the opposing force to discern the offer of surrender? and (3) Have surrendered persons unconditionally submitted to the authority of their captor?

scholarly journals International Environmental Protection in Armed Conflicts: Traditional Legal Regulation and Interpretation Novelties

Lex Russica ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 84-95
Author(s):  
N. A. Sokolova
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Wide Range

The paper is devoted to international legal protection of the environment during armed conflicts. The author emphasizes that armed conflicts, both international and non-international, continue to be one of the most serious threats to a healthy environment. An armed conflict taking place in the environment invariably poses a threat to ecosystems.The author summarizes that in international law there are special norms for the protection of natural environment during armed conflicts. At the same time, increasing the level of protection requires a clearer definition of the scope of application of customary law and the further development of treaty rules. While the objectives of protecting the natural environment are linked to the survival and protection of civilians, recognition of environmental protection during armed conflict as such constitutes an important trend. International law calls on States to enter into agreements that provide for additional protection of the natural environment during armed conflicts. The concept of “protecting the natural environment” in international humanitarian law refers to a wide range of obligations that can help protect the natural environment or its parts from damage. A high threshold for potential harm continues to pose the risk that such protection is not fully applicable in practice. There is an obvious tendency to use the potential of the principles of international environmental law when applying the norms of international humanitarian law. Thus, even in cases where the assessment of new means and methods of warfare does not provide scientific certainty with regard to their impact on the natural environment, this does not absolve the parties to the conflict from taking appropriate precautions. It is not enough that there are important rules of international humanitarian law protecting the natural environment during armed conflict; they need to be better disseminated, implemented and enforced, as well as validated and clarified.

Medical care in armed conflict: Perpetrator discourse in historical perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (911) ◽  
pp. 771-803
Author(s):  
Duncan McLean
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Over Time

AbstractAlthough the Geneva Conventions have been successively revised since 1864, norms regarding the protection of medical care have been frequently disregarded. Despite current claims of international humanitarian law in crisis, comparing historic levels of violations with contemporary incidents is quantitatively challenging. Reviewing past reactions and justifications used by perpetrators of attacks on medical care can, however, be revealing. Based on a series of emblematic cases, qualitative analysis of perpetrator discourse can contribute to a better understanding of why the protection of medical care in armed conflict continues to be problematic to this day, notably through the rationales given for attacks, which have remained remarkably consistent over time.

Rethinking the Permissive Function of Military Necessity in Internal Non-International Armed Conflict

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Onishi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
Jus Ad Bellum ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
The Right

This article advocates limiting the permissive impact of military necessity on the right to life. It has been argued that military necessity justifies deviations from international human rights law (IHRL) because this body of law is inadequate to deal with the necessities arising out of armed conflict. The article argues that while this rationale is convincing, it should not mean that conduct that is lawful under humanitarian law is necessarily also lawful under human rights law. The degree of force that may be used under international humanitarian law (IHL) is often superfluous. In some instances such violence is tempered by thejus ad bellum, but this body of law does not apply in internal non-international armed conflict (NIAC). The article concludes by exploring the potential for IHRL to play a role in tempering superfluous violence in NIAC that is similar to that whichjus ad bellumplays in international conflict.

Terrorism and Armed Conflict: Insights from a Law & Literature Perspective

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREA BIANCHI
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Law

AbstractThis article examines some selected issues relating to terrorism and international humanitarian law (IHL): the characterization of the nature of armed conflicts in which armed groups, qualified as ‘terrorist’, are involved; terrorism as a war crime; and the determination of the status and treatment (including detention) of terrorist suspects apprehended in the course of an armed conflict. The analysis emphasizes the importance of legal categories and legal qualifications of factual situations for the purpose of determining the applicable law as well as the crucial importance of taking societal practice into account when evaluating the state of the law in any given area. The main focus of the article, however, is on providing a few basic insights, drawn from the law & literature movement, on international humanitarian law and terrorism. Short of any epistemological ambition, literature is used as a remainder that the law is not a set of neutral rules, elaborated and applied independently of context and historical background; that the human condition remains central; and that legal regulation cannot be oblivious to it. Finally, mention is made of interpretive techniques, developed in the field of literary studies, that may help establish social consensus on the interpretation of IHL grey areas.

scholarly journals Protection of the environment in times of international armed conflict: الحماية الدولية للبيئة من التلوث في زمن النزاعات المسلحة

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (21) ◽  
pp. 181-170
Author(s):  
Maria Mohammed Mahmoud Zaki Maria Mohammed Mahmoud Zaki
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
Scientific Fields

The study aims to identify the most important international principles for protecting the environment in times of armed conflict, Whereas the environment is an ecosystem that consists of an interconnected group that differs in size and type of organisms and organic and inorganic elements that are balanced in a relatively stable manner. Since man is one of the most important living creatures, which necessitates human protection to preserve the environment and its balance, the international community has set controls for the use of military force, since wars are an inevitable evil, Among the most important of them is the principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations. And we used the analytical method in the study by analyzing and studying the principles of international humanitarian law. And from the above, we divided the study into three demands, the first demands dealt with the concept of military necessity in international humanitarian law, while we discussed in the second demands the concept of the principle of balance in international humanitarian law, and in the third demands we dealt with the principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations. One of the most important findings of this study is that the principle of military necessity protects the natural and civilian environment through its association with the principle of humanity, which constitute the principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations, The principle of balance between military necessity and humanitarian considerations regulates the use of weapons during armed conflicts and prohibits the use of weapons of mass destruction to protect the environment during armed conflicts. The researcher recommends that the United Nations Organization renew international agreements prohibiting the use of weapons of mass destruction in line with modern science and developments in scientific fields.

Contestation before Compliance: History, Politics, and Power in International Humanitarian Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 649-656
Author(s):  
Helen M Kinsella ◽  
Giovanni Mantilla
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Common Reference ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
The Common ◽  
Legal Concepts ◽  
Strategic Effects

Abstract Despite the common reference to international humanitarian law (IHL) in the discourse and practice of international politics, international relations (IR) scholarship has yet to consistently engage in an analysis of IHL that extends beyond the relatively narrow specifications of its regulative and strategic effects. In this theory note, we argue that this prevailing focus leaves the discipline with an impoverished understanding of IHL and its operation in international politics. We propose that the study of IHL should be expanded through a deeper engagement with the law's historical development, the politics informing its codification and interpretation, and its multiple potential effects beyond compliance. This accomplishes three things. First, it corrects for IR's predominantly ahistorical approach to evaluating both IHL and compliance, revealing the complicated, contested, and productive construction of some of IHL's core legal concepts and rules. Second, our approach illuminates how IR's privileging of civilian targeting requires analytical connection to other rules such as proportionality and military necessity, none of which can be individually assessed and each of which remain open to debate. Third, we provide new resources for analyzing and understanding IHL and its contribution to “world making and world ordering.”

Ch.Five War Crimes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werle Gerhard ◽  
Jeßberger Florian
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Criminal Sanctions ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter turns to war crimes. Here, the chapter narrows the definition of ‘war crimes’ to a violation of a rule of international humanitarian law that creates direct criminal responsibility under international law. It then proceeds to examine the historical development of war crimes as part of international humanitarian law as well as criminal sanctions, war crimes in non-international armed conflict, protected interests, and categories of war crimes. Afterward, the chapter describes the overall requirements for an offence to be deemed a war crime. Next, the chapter explores war crimes against persons, against property and other rights, and against humanitarian operations. It also discusses prohibited methods of warfare and the use of prohibited means of warfare. The chapter ends with a coverage of the multiplicity of offences.

To Serve the Enemy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Darcy
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Rules And Principles

The use of informers and other collaborators by parties to an armed conflict is a common yet often concealed practice in times of war. Despite the prevalence of such activity, and the serious and at times fatal consequences that befall those who collaborate with an enemy, international law applicable in times of armed conflict does not squarely address the phenomenon. The recruitment, use, and treatment of informers and other collaborators is addressed only partially and at times indirectly by international humanitarian law. While international law recognises the widespread and enduring phenomenon of individuals cooperating with an opposing side during an armed conflict, it treats it with some ambivalence. The lawfulness of resort to the practice is generally accepted in principle, yet international law seeks to place certain limits, including restrictions on the methods employed in the recruitment, use, and treatment of informers and other collaborators during armed conflict. This book examines the development and application of the relevant rules and principles of the laws of armed conflict in relation to collaboration. The author focuses primarily on international humanitarian law as applicable to various forms of collaboration but also provides an assessment of the potential role of international human rights law. The book examines the law and practice concerning the phenomenon of collaboration during both international and non-international armed conflicts.

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