International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
658 Articles
War-Sustaining Activities and Direct Participation in the DOD Law of War Manual
In a recent post on Lawfare, Butch Bracknell discussed the use of leaflets by the United States to warn truck drivers transporting oil for ISIL of an impending attack. Bracknell…
A Legal Map of Airstrikes in Syria (Part 2)
Editor’s Note: This is the second post in a two-part series discussing the legal justifications various countries have put forth related to airstrikes in Syria. You can find…
Targeting Tankers — and Their Drivers — Under the Law of War (Part 2)
Leaflets dropped 45 minutes before airstrikes targeting ISIL oil tankers. Image credit: US Defense Department Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part post discussing…
Targeting Tankers Under the Law of War (Part 1)
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part post discussing how the law of war applies to airstrikes against oil tanker trucks. You can read Part Two here. On November…
Challenges New Weapons and Humanitarian Assistance Present for International Law
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth post in a miniseries about the International Committee of the Red Cross’s newly released Report on International Humanitarian Law and the…
Foreign Fighters, Mercenaries, and Private Military Companies Under International Law
Editor’s Note: This is the third post in a miniseries about the International Committee of the Red Cross’s newly released Report on International Humanitarian Law and the Challenges…
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…
Kunduz Update
The Afghan government is doubling down on its strong insinuations that a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital that US and Afghan forces bombed in Kunduz on October 3 was a legitimate…
Human Shields: The Weapon of the Strong
In a series of interventions, Adil Ahmad Haque and Charlie Dunlap have debated the Defense Department Law of War Manual’s position on human shields (here, here, and here). Claiming…
The False Choice of Opposing Torture or Endless War: A Response to Samuel Moyn
In a thoughtful guest post Samuel Moyn has continued and deepened a debate we began in the pages of the current issue of Dissent on the relative merits of opposing war itself and…
The Special Rapporteur on Torture’s Report on Extraterritoriality Speaks to Migrant Crisis
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Méndez, has issued a new expert’s report (his 17th)—this one on extraterritoriality. (JustSecurity’s extensive…