Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)

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A female de-miner works to clear mines in Muhamalai, one of the biggest minefields in the world, on March 3, 2019 in Muhamalai, Sri Lanka. A sign with a skull and cross bones reads, “Danger Mines!” in three different languages.

US Should Think Again About Reversing Landmine Policy

The Trump administration announced Friday that the United States will re-start using and producing antipersonnel landmines. The new policy follows the U.S. retreat from multilateralism…
Rescue teams work amidst debris after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning on January 8, 2020, killing everyone on board.

Human Shielding (by Omission) in Iran

Iran violated its legal obligations to take passive precautions to protect civilians under its control, with the intent that those civilians shield military targets from attack.…
Iranians march across a bridge on January 5, 2020 in the northwestern city of Ahvaz to pay homage to top general Qasem Soleimani, after he was killed in a US strike in Baghdad.

Iran’s Leaders Preserve the Republic With a Hybrid of International and Islamic Law

The rhetorical strategy allows them to address the world and Iranians at the same time, while passing on different messages.
An Iranian woman walks beneath a poster honouring the victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet accidentally shot down in the capital last week, in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on January 13, 2020.

Iran Plane Downing: Likely a Violation of International Humanitarian Law (But Not a War Crime)

Iran most likely violated the law of armed conflict in shooting down Ukraine Airlines PS752 but did not commit a war crime.
A banner with the ICRC emblem on it.

Targeted Killing of General Soleimani: Why the Laws of War Should Apply, and Why it Matters

In her thought provoking and thorough piece, Agnes Callamard addresses – among many other issues – the question whether the US strike against General Qassem Soleimani was subject…
Side by side photos of a Congressional document labeled, “H.J. Res. 542” and the remnants of the U.S. airstrike still on fire that killed Soleimani and al-Muhandis on Jan. 3, 2020 outside the Baghdad International Airport.

The Soleimani Strike and War Powers

Key Legal Questions, With Preview of a New Research Database
An aerial view of the Israeli settlement of Efrat near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem south of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank on November 19, 2019.

Assessing the New U.S. “View” on the Legality of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank

In his remarks to the press yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the following with respect to the settlement of Israeli civilians in the West Bank.  I’ve highlighted…
Sri Lankan Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa rides in a jeep during a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Colombo on May 17, 2013. Military personnel in uniform surround him.

Suit Against Sri Lankan Presidential Candidate Rajapaksa Dismissed on Common Law Immunity Grounds

Among other deficiencies, the ruling failed to acknowledge jurisprudence from other courts indicating that jus cogens violations can never constitute “official” acts entitling…
Supporters of former secretary to the ministry of defence and presidential candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, celebrate outside Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal in Colombo on October 4, 2019, after a petition challenging his Sri Lankan nationality was taken to court and then dismissed.

Sri Lankan War Criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa May Escape Accountability Yet Again, This Time by Running for President

Recent developments in a pair of human rights cases in U.S. federal court against former Sri Lankan Defense Minister and current presidential hopeful Gotabaya (“Gota”) Rajapakse…
Binary code lit up in blue lights

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…
US soldiers aim their guns during a ceremony on the outskirts of Kabul on March 15, 2012.

Do Moral Judgments of War Support the Principle of Combatant Equality?: What Empirical Studies Tells Us

Are our moral intuitions about war in line with the crucial principle of combatant equality in the law of armed conflict? A moral psychology study begins mapping out and explaining…
A Saudi female journalist films damage at a market for vehicles on August 27, 2016 in the Saudi border city of Najran, a week after it was struck by a rocket fired from Yemen.

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…
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