Distinction
20 Articles
“Hunting” the October 7 Attackers: What the Law of Armed Conflict Permits – and What It Doesn’t
Legal analysis of Israel's operation to kill or capture every individual involved in the October 7th massacre.
A Primer on Just War Theory and the Iran War
Leading scholar explains just war theory and the Iran war. An assessment of the Trump administration's response to the Catholic Church.
“Precision Strike Missiles” (PrSMs) in Iran War: The U.S. Obligation to Conduct a Legal Review of New Weapons
Leading expert on U.S. legal reviews of new weapons systems discusses Precision Strike Missiles deployed in Iran war.
Expert Q&A: A Targeting Primer on the Iran War
Leading legal experts' Q&A analyzes how the law of armed conflict applies to U.S., Israeli, and Iranian strikes - with a focus on targeting rules and civilian protections.
Law of War Questions Raised by Exploding Pagers in Lebanon
The exploding pagers in Lebanon raise a number of factual and legal questions related to the obligations of the attacker under the law of armed conflict.
The Prohibition on Indiscriminate Attacks: The US Position vs. the DoD Law of War Manual
Timely analysis especially given recent U.S. government condemnations of Russia's indiscriminate attacks in Ukraine.
Embedding Gender in International Humanitarian Law: Is Artificial Intelligence Up to the Task?
The laws of war can sanction uses of force with gendered consequences. Encoding IHL principles into AI systems may reinforce - or correct for - these disparate impacts.
COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Conduct of Hostilities
Airstrikes on hospitals. Targeting medical personnel. Cutting off water supplies. Respect for IHL rules is as essential as ever during a pandemic. How do principles of distinction,…
An Overview of International Humanitarian Law in France’s New Cyber Document
France's positions explained - with translations of key text - on important issues like the meaning of "attack" and the application of the principles of distinction and proportionality…
The Yemen Project: Open Source Investigations and the Law of War
An unprecedented open source investigation aids the legal analysis of allegedly unlawful strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, but also has limits in reaching legal conclusions under…
A Critique of Defense Dept General Counsel Ney’s Remarks on the Law of War
"The law of war applies equally to U.S. forces and to ISIS, to Syria and to Russia. We should keep that in mind when we hear Ney recite Lieber’s dictum, 'The more vigorously…
“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…