Law of War Manual

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Just Security

A quick response to John Merriam on proportionality and military medical personnel

Thanks very much to John Merriam for his very thoughtful and insightful post responding to my concerns about the Law of War Manual‘s treatment of how the principle of proportionality…
Just Security

Must Military Medical and Religious Personnel Be Accounted for in a Proportionality Analysis?

In a recent post, Marty Lederman echoed criticisms previously leveled by Oona Hathaway about the US DOD’s Law of War Manual. The thrust of their criticism is that several Manual…
Just Security

The Updated First Geneva Convention Commentary, DOD’s Law of War Manual, and a More Perfect Law of War, Part I

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Nearly synonymous with the law of war itself, the universally ratified 1949 Conventions are not merely…
Just Security

Troubling proportionality and rule-of-distinction provisions in the Law of War Manual

Oona Hathaway is absolutely right to be alarmed, and deeply concerned, about the “civilians’ assumption of risk” provisions in the new DoD Law of War Manual. If you haven’t…
Just Security

The Law of War Manual’s Threat to the Principle of Proportionality

On Saturday, I had the honor of speaking to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA General Assembly. In preparing for my talk last week, I came across a section of the US Defense…
Just Security

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…
Just Security

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:…
Just Security

How Should International Law Deal With Doubt in the Era of Drones and Big Data?

Recent reports on the NSA’s use of metadata and machine learning to generate intelligence for drone strikes in Pakistan spotlights the somewhat less-discussed legal concerns…
Just Security

Human Shields: The Dialogue Continues

As avid readers of Just Security may recall, last summer Professor Adil Ahmad Haque and I engaged in an animated discussion about the new Defense Department Law of War Manual’s…
Just Security

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…
Just Security

Human Shields in the DOD Manual: A New Mistake or an Old One?

Since the Defense Department published its new Law of War Manual, major media outlets have scrutinized its treatment of journalists while ignoring its treatment of ordinary civilians.…
Just Security

Honor, Morality, and the DOD Law of War Manual

As faithful readers of Just Security’s “mini forum” on the new DOD Law of War Manual may recall, Prof. Adil Haque and I sparred last summer over several of the manual’s…
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