Armed Conflict
Law of Armed Conflict/IHL
1,632 Articles
How Should International Law Deal With Doubt in the Era of Drones and Big Data?
Recent reports on the NSA’s use of metadata and machine learning to generate intelligence for drone strikes in Pakistan spotlights the somewhat less-discussed legal concerns…
Iraq and Syria: Prospects for Accountability
On February 10, 2016, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission convened a congressional briefing devoted to the topic of advancing accountability for the commission of international…
“More Than a Domestic Mechanism”: Options for Hybrid Justice in Sri Lanka
For nearly three decades, the government of Sri Lanka fought with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but after years of resistance, the new government has committed to…
D.C. Circuit Quietly Set to Hear Major National Security Appeals
Given the rather significant legal news of the past four days, it’s easy to forget that a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit (Tatel, Griffith, & Sentelle, JJ.) is…
When Did the War With al-Qaeda Start?
On Wednesday, the DC Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments on a request to halt the military commission prosecution of Guantánamo detainee Abd al-Rahim Hussein al-Nashiri.…
Is Money a Legitimate Target?
Last month, the United States targeted a “cash distribution site” where millions of dollars belonging to ISIS had reportedly been stored. The target was considered so valuable…
The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Geographical Scope of Human Rights Law
On January 21, a British investigation concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” approved the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died…
Siege Warfare and the Starvation of Civilians as a Weapon of War and War Crime
“Let me be clear: The use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime.” These are the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, uttered in connection with the starvation…
Mapping the Law That Applies to War Crimes in Syria
War crimes have been a consistent feature of the Syrian conflict since its inception. Indeed, a map of the war crimes committed in Syria reads like a survey course of the topic.…
ISIS in the United States: Which Legal Regime Applies?
Consider the following hypothetical: It is 10:00pm in Times Square, New York City. The “city that never sleeps” is bustling with tourists, Broadway shows, street performers,…
Was the Cyber Attack on a Dam in New York an Armed Attack?
Concerns about the vulnerability of infrastructure to cyber attacks were highlighted in two recent news articles. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2013, Iranian…
Why the US Should Cooperate With Investigations Into the Hospital Bombing
On December 12, the United Nations released a “special report” on human rights abuses and international humanitarian law violations that recently occurred in Kunduz, Afghanistan.…