Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)
600 Articles
The MSF Airstrike Report: Better on the Facts Than on the Law
The military’s investigation of the October 2015 airstrike on the Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan was back in the news last week thanks to highly…
Transparency, Review, and Relief: The Far-Reaching Implications of the Kunduz Report
Thus far, many discussions of the US military’s release of a 120-page detailed report of the lawfulness of its attack on the Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) facility in Kunduz,…
What the Kunduz Report Gets Right (and Wrong)
Over the past week, many thoughtful posts have appeared, here and elsewhere, reacting to the US military’s report on the 2015 airstrike of a Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF)…
We Need to Know More About the US’s Role in Yemen
A crowd quickly gathered when I arrived last month in what remained of the market in Mastaba, a small highway town in northern Yemen. A week earlier, on March 15, warplanes from…
The International Discussion Continues: 2016 CCW Experts Meeting on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
Last week, States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the international treaty banning or restricting the use of land mines, blinding lasers, and other…
Are all “members” of ISIL targetable?
Rita Siemion and Heather Brandon of Human Rights First have published a comprehensive post on some of the more important aspects of Brian Egan’s speech to ASIL. (My own…
International Law à la Carte: Brian Egan’s Jus ad Bellum Doctrine
Last week’s speech by State Department Legal Adviser Brian Egan laying out the legal and policy rationales behind the US’s war against ISIL was largely overlooked in the mainstream…
A brief response to Gabor Rona on the use of force by non-military personnel
Gabor Rona is correct, of course, that (absent a later-in-time statutory override) U.S. use of force must comply with international law, regardless of the identity of the U.S.…
When Considering CIA Targeted Killings, Don’t Forget International Law!
Last week, Marty Lederman addressed the legality and wisdom of CIA engagement in targeted killings under domestic law. Applicable international law, however, suggests that CIA…
[UPDATED–Now with VIDEO] ASIL Speech by State Legal Adviser Egan on international law and the use of force against ISIL
Brian Egan, the new State Legal Adviser — and until recently the Legal Adviser to the National Security Council — just delivered this speech to the American Society of International…
Georgetown Law panel on DOD Law of War Manual
Unfortunately, it appears that Oona’s ASIL panel on the new Law of War Manual yesterday was not recorded. I hope that perhaps some who attended will be able to convey some…
The Law of War Manual Debate Goes to ASIL
Today, at the American Society of International Law Annual Meeting, I will be moderating a panel of on the US Department of Defense’s new Law of War Manual. (Full disclosure:…