International Armed Conflict
33 Articles

Letter to the Editor from Professor Terry Gill on Classification of International Armed Conflict
Firstly, many thanks to Professor Adil Haque for reading my piece and for his thoughtful comments on it, both favorable and less so. Let me briefly reply to some of the points…

The Law of Consent-Based Interventions
In a recent Just Security post, Adil Ahmad Haque asks what legal rules constrain the use of military force by an intervening state acting without the host state’s consent. Recognizing…

Between the Law of Force and the Law of Armed Conflict
Last week, I argued in favor of the ICRC’s position that if one state uses armed force in the territory of another state then an international armed conflict (IAC) arises between…

Whose Armed Conflict? Which Law of Armed Conflict?
When one state, say, the United States, uses military force on the territory of another state, say, Syria or Pakistan, without the consent of that state, what legal rules constrain…

Would Arming Anti-Assad Rebels Trigger an “International Armed Conflict”—and War Crimes Prosecutions?
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Gulf Arab States are considering arming militant groups in Syria to fend off Assad’s onslaught in Aleppo and elsewhere. There may be…

Triggers and Thresholds of Non-International Armed Conflict
When and where does the law of non-international armed conflict apply? Since most contemporary armed conflicts are fought between states and organized armed groups, or between…

Is the US Allowed to Control a Syrian Airfield?
Reports have recently emerged that the US is in control of an airfield in Syria. The details are a bit sketchy and it’s hard to determine their veracity. For their part, US officials…

International Law, Targeting, and Detention in the Age of International Terrorism
Editor’s Note: This is the second post in a miniseries about the International Committee of the Red Cross’s newly released Report on International Humanitarian Law and the…

The Start, End, and Territorial Scope of Armed Conflict
Editor’s Note: This is the first post in a miniseries about the International Committee of the Red Cross’s newly released Report on International Humanitarian Law and the Challenges…