Latest in Law of Armed Conflict
I am pleased to announce Oxford University Press’s publication of “The Future Law of Armed Conflict,” a volume I co-edited with my former student and member of West Point’s law department, Tom Oakley.
While biological weapons are banned under both the law of armed conflict and the Biological Weapons Convention, what about SynBio weapons that defy the classic “biological” label?
The United States claims to have “exercised its inherent right of self-defense” in accordance with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter in conducting a drone strike in Iraq targeting Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani.
While the United States prohibits assassination as a matter of national policy, not every killing violates this ban. And even if the killing did not have an international legal basis, it may not necessarily constitute an assassination under the U.S. government’s definition of the term.
Focusing on the weapon, and not how it is being used, muddies the law and facts surrounding the circumstances in which a war crime may have occurred.
Editor's Note: This piece is crossposted on Lawfare and EJIL:Talk!
States frequently take actions and make statements that implicate international law. But because they do not—and, indeed, could not—express a view on each such act or statement by all other states at all times, silence seems to be the norm, rather than the exception, in international relations.
On June 20, the United Nations Security Council passed a unanimous resolution to protect people with disabilities in armed conflict and ensure they have equal access to humanitarian assistance. The groundbreaking text follows extensive advocacy from civil society and disability rights groups, and marks the first time the council has dedicated an entire resolution to the unique challenges people with disabilities face during situations of armed conflict.
President Trump is reportedly considering ordering leniency for several U.S. service members accused or convicted of war crimes.
Editor's Note: This post is part of the sixth annual Transatlantic Workshop on International Law and Armed Conflict joint blog series.
Editor's Note: This post is part of the sixth annual Transatlantic Workshop on International Law and Armed Conflict joint blog series.