Armed Conflict • International Law
Use of Force
952 Articles
The “Shift Cold” Military Tactic: Finding Room Under International Law
It should surprise no one that evolving military practice raises novel legal questions. It may surprise many that the increasing use of “shift cold” techniques by advanced…
The “Shift Cold” Military Tactic and International Humanitarian Law
New technology allows for new military tactics in urban warfare. Legal questions have been raised about a military practice--called "shift cold"--in which an operator redirects…
“Reasonable Certainty” vs “Near Certainty” in Military Targeting–What the Law Requires
Former deputy legal counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commander (ret.) Mike Adams and former Special Counsel to General Counsel of the Dep’t of Defense, Ryan…
Japan’s Definition of Armed Attack and ‘Bloody Nose’ Strikes Against North Korea
There has been an important discussion in the last couple of weeks over the legality of possible limited strikes, part of a so-called “bloody nose” strategy, by the United…
Collective Self-Defense and the “Bloody Nose Strategy”: Does it Take Two to Tango?
The Japanese people and their government have reason to be nervous. Last year, North Korea conducted two ballistic missile tests over Japan. If that was not enough, the U.S. Government…
Best Advice for Policymakers on “Bloody Nose” Strike against North Korea: It’s Illegal
In this image provided by the South Korean Unification Ministry, the head of South Korean delegation Lee Woo-Sung shakes hands with the head of North Korean delegation Kwon Hook-Bong…
We’ve Been Here Before: Sticks Don’t Work Well with Pakistan
A Pakistani Army soldier stands near an artillery gun used against pro-Taliban militants while on base at Kabal in the Swat valley of northwestern Pakistan. (John Moore/Getty Images)…
Recent Israeli Strikes on Syria and the Prohibition on the Unilateral Use of Force
An Israeli F-16 jet takes off on December 9, 2014 at the Ovda airbase in the Negev Desert near Eilat, southern Israel. (Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images) On Tuesday, January 9, Israel…
International Criminal Court Indictments of U.S. Officials Are not Impossible
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s long-expected request to open an investigation of U.S. armed forces and the CIA for crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan…
Crime of Aggression Activated at the ICC: Does it Matter?
The International Criminal Court’s Assembly of States Parties agreed late last week that the ICC can now prosecute crimes of aggression, making it the fourth crime (after war…
No Winners: How the Int’l Criminal Court Should Avoid Confronting the United States
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda presents at the Fifth Annual Blouin Creative Leadership Summit in New York in 2011. (Credit: Thos Robinson/Getty Images for The Louise Blouin Foundation)…
USG Statement on Int’l Criminal Court Probe into Alleged U.S. War Crimes is Missing Some Things
As states gathered earlier this month to kick off the 16th Session of the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court, ICC watchers wondered what to expect from…