Series
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Conclusion
As this symposium draws to a close, one principle emerges as the unifying thread across the societies examined in Volume 4 of The Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars: reciprocity. This idea of reciprocal compliance or restraint in conflict is not framed identically in every...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â African Traditions and the Preservation of Humanity during Warfare
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel Whiteâs introductory post. Africaâs diverse societies...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Somali Traditions of Restraint
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel Whiteâs introductory post. Accounts of the laws of war...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Jewish Ethics of War in the Torah
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel Whiteâs introductory post. The Torah contains one of...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Hittite Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel Whiteâs introductory post. The Hittite Empire, situated...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Introduction
The Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars series began with what I assumed was an idle question, almost a thought experiment. While watching a dramatized Viking raid on television, I wondered whether the brutality on screen could have violated any norms that Vikings themselves...
Ukraine Symposium â War Termination: Legal Implications for International Security
The Kremlin announced on June 20 that it would finalize a date for a third round of peace talks with Ukraine. This follows two meetings in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2, 2025, marking the first such negotiations in over three years. But Ukraine and Russia remain...
What Is Left After Leaving Ottawa?
With 165 member States (at the time of writing), the Ottawa Convention is arguably the most widely recognized international treaty on conventional weapons. It was long regarded as a triumph of civil society, with progress reported on an annual basis. Even the fact...
Ukraine Symposium â Ukraine and the Future of the Ottawa Convention
In 1935, the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted its 45th convention, generally prohibiting the employment of women in underground mining work. The treaty achieved widespread adoption, with 98 member States at its peak. ILO Convention No. 45 emerged from a...
Ukraine Symposium â Seizure of Private Real Property and Transfer of Civilians into Occupied Territory
In May 2025, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that âRussia is inventorying real estate in occupied Ukraine in order to seize property from Ukrainian residents, likely in part to facilitate the transfer of Russian citizens to occupied territoriesâ (see...
Ukraine Symposium â Russiaâs Trial of Australian Oscar Jenkins: Status, Legitimacy, and Lawfare
When Australian national Oscar Jenkins crossed into Ukraine and picked up arms, he likely anticipated danger. What he may not have anticipated was the murky legal theatre into which heâd be thrust. Captured in late 2024 and sentenced to thirteen years of confinement,...
Ukraine Symposium â Release of Chinese POWs in Ukraine
In early April, reports emerged indicating that Ukraine had captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. Additional reports shared by Ukraine's intelligence agencies identified nearly two hundred other Chinese nationals also...
Ukraine Symposium â Captured Enemy Weapons
The Russian military has fielded a new weapon in its conflict with Ukraine. In recent weeks, at least one frontline Russian unit was observed operating an American-made Bradley M2A2 infantry fighting vehicle, and Russia is believed to possess nearly a dozen others....
Ukraine Symposium â Ukraine’s New Voluntary Report on the Implementation of IHL
In late 2024, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (MoDU) joined a relatively small but growing family of States that has published voluntary reports on implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) at the domestic level. In other States, such occasions might...
Ukraine Symposium â Russiaâs Reproductive Violence in Ukraine: Hidden Atrocities of War
Russiaâs full-scale invasion of Ukraine has inflicted enormous harm on the civilian population, exposing many women, children, and in some cases men, to abuses including sexual and reproductive violence. Although global media often highlight missile strikes and...
Al Hassan Symposium â Fair Trial Guarantees under the Law of Armed Conflict: How Can They Be Realistic for Armed Groups?
The following post by RaphaĂŤl van Steenberghe focuses on fair trial guarantees and examines the merits of the Trial Chamberâs judgment in this respect. It also explains how fair trial guarantees, which armed groupsâ courts must afford, may be addressed in light of a...
Ukraine Symposium â Sunk in Battle but the War is Not Over: Who Owns the Moskva Now?
The study of underwater cultural heritage, and that of sunken warships, has typically focussed on the legal protections surrounding a site in the years, or often centuries, after the sinking. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has given cause to study the topic in a more...
Ukraine Symposium â Terrorizing Civilians and the Law of Armed Conflict
Reports from the Kherson Oblast, an area of Ukraine the Ukrainian military recaptured in November 2022, indicate that the Russian military is using drones to target Ukrainian civilians as part of a systematic effort to terrorize the civilian population (see also here,...
Ukraine Symposium â Litigating the Act of Aggression as Human Rights Claims
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reports that since February 2022, there have been 40,176 verified civilian casualties caused by the conflict in Ukraine: 12,340 killed and 27,836 injured. The number of combatant casualties is much higher. President...
Ukraine Symposium â The Continuing Autonomous Arms Race
As Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine drags into a grueling war of attrition, both sides are intensifying efforts to achieve a battlefield breakthrough with technological innovation. The invasion has sparked a rapid proliferation of low-cost drones and robotic systems that...
Al Hassan Symposium â A Disappointment for the Victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Timbuktu
Editorsâ note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Lawand Articles of War blogs. The symposium addresses the ICCâs judgment in the Al Hassan case. The introductory post is available here. On June 26, 2024, the...
Al Hassan Symposium â The Defences of Duress and Mistake of Law in the Al Hassan Trial Judgment
The following post by Antonio Coco focuses on the defences of duress and mistake of law in the Al Hassan judgment. The post was published on the Armed Groups and International Law as part of the joint Articles of War and AGIL Al Hassan Symposium. ...
Al Hassan Symposium â Justice Served (f)or Justice Denied? â The ICC Trial Chamberâs Approach to the War Crime of Passing Sentences Without a Regularly Constituted Court under Article 8(2)(c)(iv) of the Rome Statute
The following post by Hannes JĂśbstl focuses on the ICC Trial Chamberâs approach to the war crime of passing sentences without a regularly constituted court under Article 8(2)(c)(iv) of the Rome Statute. The post was published on the Armed Groups and International...
Al Hassan Symposium – Superior Orders: A (Hopefully) Overlooked Afterthought
Editorsâ note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. The symposium addresses the ICCâs judgment in the Al Hassan case. The introductory post is available here. In its 822-page judgment in the...
Al Hassan Symposium â International Human Rights Law, Nexus and Non-State Armed Groups: Still a Mystery
The following post by Ezequiel Heffes focuses on a critical issue raised in the Al Hassan judgment that has not received much attention in recent debates related to the case: the possible application of international human rights law to non-State armed groups and the...
Al Hassan Symposium â The ICCâs Coerced Confession Double Standard
Editorsâ note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. The symposium addresses the ICCâs judgment in the Al Hassan case. The introductory post is available here. On June 26, 2024, the...
Al Hassan Symposium â Towards the Acceptance of the Aggregated Violence Approach?
Editorsâ note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. The symposium addresses the ICCâs judgment in the Al Hassan case. The introductory post is available here. On June 26, 2024, Trial Chamber...
Al Hassan Symposium â (Re) Introduction
In July of 2023, Articles of War and Armed Groups and International Law jointly launched a series of posts covering the forthcoming trial judgment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Prosecutor v. Al Hassan. The case addressed charges relating to acts by...
Ukraine Symposium â âPublic Curiosityâ and the North Korean POWs
The Russia-Ukraine international armed conflict, which started with Russiaâs takeover of Crimea in 2014 and grew with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, escalated further with the recent involvement of North Korean troops. North Koreaâs leader, Kim Jong-un,...
Ukraine Symposium â The Budapest Memorandumâs History and Role in the Conflict
Last month of 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, part of an agreement by which Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in return for security assurances by Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The Memorandum, signed...
Ukraine Symposium â North Koreaâs Entry into International Armed Conflict
In recent months, the world has observed the methodical introduction of the Democratic Peopleâs Republic of Korea (DPRK) into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine international armed conflict (IAC). On June 19, 2024, President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean leader, Kim...
Al Hassan Symposium â Complicity in Torture and the ICC
The following post by Michel Paradis focuses on the legal issues the ICC's Trial Chamber should reexamine in making its final judgment, specifically whether Al Hassanâs credible allegations of torture compel the Trial Chamber to disregard the statements he made to the...
Al Hassan Symposium â Gendered Crime as a Central Focus in the ICCâs Al-Hassan Case
The following post by Valerie Oosterveld and Nicole Dotson focuses on gendered crime as a central focus in the ICCâs Al Hassan case. The post was published on the Armed Groups and International Law as part of the joint Articles of War and AGIL Al Hassan Symposium....
Al Hassan Symposium â The War Crime of Sentencing or Execution without Due Process in the Al Hassan Case: The Interpretative Pitfalls Hidden in the Application of the Crime
The following post by Diletta Marchesi focuses on the most important interpretative pitfalls hidden in the application of the crime of sentencing or execution without due process. The post was published on the Armed Groups and International Law as part of the joint...
Ukraine Symposium â Dragon Drones and the Law of Armed Conflict
In early September, social media users uploaded videos depicting a Ukrainian drone spewing a burning substance along a dense tree line, allegedly where Russian troops were hiding (see here, here, here, and here). Although the longest video spans no more than 30...
Ukraine Symposium â Ukraineâs âIndefiniteâ Incursion into Russia and the Jus ad Bellum
In early August, following two and a half years of attempts to repulse invading Russian forces from its eastern territories, Ukraine conducted a large-scale ground counteroffensive into Russia from its northern border. In the largest incursion of its kind since the...
EU Support to Ukraine through Windfall Profits: Reparative Value, International Law, and Future Pathways
Over two years into the Russian Federationâs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the fate of Russian assets frozen by Western sanctions is followed almost as closely as battlefield developments. Considering the figures at play (assets worth an estimated $300 billion),...
Ukraine Symposium â Is Ukraine Occupying Territory in Russia?
In the early morning hours of August 6, Ukrainian forces in armored vehicles moved into the Kursk region of Russia. This surprise offensive by Ukraine into Russia represents the largest foreign incursion into Russia since the Second World War. By August 15, the...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Conclusion
Although a much wider analysis is possible (and is done elsewhere) I thought it important to highlight the uniting factor that has emerged so far in the various posts in Articles of War based on three volumes of the Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars series. This final post...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Mongol Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs third edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post....
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium – South Sudanese Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs third edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. Our...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium – Rules and âRightâ in Iban Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs third edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post....
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium – Kalaripayattu to IHL: The Ancient Roots of Legal Warfare Practices in Malabar
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs third edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. For...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Ottoman Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs third edited volume of Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. The...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Introduction
Last year, Articles of War hosted a symposium highlighting volumes one and two of the Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars book series published by Brill Nijhoff. The symposium included posts that studied the laws of war of Islamic, Native American, East African, Indigenous...
Ukraine Symposium â Russiaâs Use of Riot Control Agents in Ukraine
Russian forces are reportedly using non-lethal chemical weapons known as riot control agents (RCA) to flush combatants out of trenches in eastern Ukraine before attacking them with conventional munitions. According to a report published by Reuters on April 17, the...
Ukraine Symposium â New ICC Arrest Warrants for Russian Flag Officers
The International Criminal Courtâs (ICC) wanted list for Russian perpetrators of war crimes committed in Ukraine has doubled. Prosecutor Karim Khan announced arrest warrants against two Russian military commanders, General Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Admiral Viktor...
Ukraine Symposium â Legal Reflections on the Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Exchange
In early January, Russia and Ukraine announced the largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of Russiaâs full-scale invasion in February 2022. Mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the exchange reportedly included the release of 248 Russian military personnel by...
Ukraine Symposium â Retaliatory Warfare and International Humanitarian Law
On 29 December, Russia launched a massive country-wide drone and missile assault on Ukraine. Although Ukraine shot down 114 of the 158 inbound missiles, over 40 Ukrainian civilians died in the attacks, and more than 160 were wounded. In addition to military...
Ukraine Symposium â Mine Clearance Operations in the Black Sea
In an Articles of War post earlier this year, Ben Rothchild and Mark Jessup addressed the under-appreciated challengesâoperational, navigational, and legalâposed by the relatively extensive mine-laying operations carried out in the Black Sea as a component of the...
Ukraine Symposium – Territorial Acquisition and Armed Conflict
Soon after the outbreak of its international armed conflict with Ukraine in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea. Eight years later, it also annexed territory around the four Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. In each case, the annexations, which...
The Intelligence Community, Atrocities, and Accountability
(Editorâs note: This article is part of a joint symposium hosted by Just Security and Articles of War. The symposium addresses topics discussed at a workshop held at The George Washington University Law School concerning U.S. cooperation with the International...
Al Hassan Symposium â âIslam Itself Is Not on Trialâ: Culture and Religion in Al Hassan
Editorâs note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. This symposium addresses the pending ICC Al Hassan judgment. Katharine Fortin, Sean Watts, and Diletta Marchesiâs introductory post is...
Al Hassan Symposium â Understanding Rebel (Dis)Order in Al Hassan
Editorâs note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. This symposium addresses the pending ICC Al Hassan judgment. Katharine Fortin, Sean Watts, and Diletta Marchesiâs introductory post is...
Al Hassan Symposium â Rebel Governance under the Spotlight: the ICC Al Hassan Case
Editorâs note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. This symposium addresses the pending ICC Al Hassan judgment. Katharine Fortin, Sean Watts, and Diletta Marchesiâs introductory post is...
Al Hassan Symposium â Petite Sardine or Big Fish? Rebel Governance and the ICC Al Hassan Trial
On 25 May, the Defence finished their closing statements in the Al Hassan case at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The case relates to acts committed during the nine months of 2012 and 2013 that Ansar Dine and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AD/AQMI)...
Ukraine Symposium â Transfers of POWs to Third States
Introduction On 9 June 2023, media reported that Hungary received eleven Ukrainian Prisoners of War (POWs) from Russia. More than a week later, Reuters reported that three of these persons had been repatriated to Ukraine. The exact circumstances of how the group of...
The United States Should Ratify the Rome Statute
(Editorâs note: This article is part of a joint symposium hosted by Just Security and Articles of War. The symposium addresses topics discussed at a workshop held at The George Washington University Law School concerning U.S. cooperation with the International...
Reducing the Human Cost of Large-Scale Military Operations
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law Schoolâs Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Ukraine Symposium â Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam: Disproportionate and Prohibited
Introduction On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam was destroyed causing a major humanitarian and environmental disaster. This post analyses the question of whether this destruction complied with the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL). In...
U.S.-ICC Symposium – U.S. Cooperation with the ICC to Investigate and Prosecute Atrocities in Ukraine: Possibilities and Challenges
(Editorâs note: This article provides an overview of a joint symposium hosted by Just Security and Articles of War. The symposium addresses topics discussed at a workshop held at The George Washington University Law School concerning U.S. cooperation with the...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium â Detention Operations in LSCOs: a U.S. Military Perspective
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law Schoolâs Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Counterterrorism Thinking and âLarge-Scale Combat Operationsâ
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law Schoolâs Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium â Legal Considerations Before and During LSCOs
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law Schoolâs Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium â Detention in Non-International Armed Conflict
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law Schoolâs Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium â Protection of the Environment During an Occupation
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law Schoolâs Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium â Environmental Protection in the Context of LSCOs
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law Schoolâs Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium â Introduction
Editorâs note: The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the ICRC, HLS PILAC, or other workshop participants. Large-scale combat operations (LSCOs) involve widespread, devastating violence, usually on a vast scale. They...
Ukraine Symposium â Accountability for Cyber War Crimes
In our digitally connected and technology-dependent world, cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure such as electric power grids, water treatment facilities, and industrial control systems have far-reaching safety and security consequences. When these attacks are...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Make War Sharp Again?
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs edited volumes Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. Francis Lieber...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium – Islamic Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs edited volumes Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. Many people...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â The Eastern Native North American âLaws of Warâ
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs edited volumes Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. The Clash of...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â East African Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs edited volumes Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. In our chapter...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Indigenous Australian Laws of War
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs edited volumes Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. Australia is...
Ukraine Symposium – The Legality of Depleted Uranium Shells and Their Transfer to Ukraine
âThe decision by the United Kingdom (UK) in March 2023 to transfer depleted uranium tank shells to Ukraine provoked a fierce reaction from senior Russian political and military officials. President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would ârespond accordingly, given...
Ukraine Symposium â A Path Forward for Food Security in Armed Conflict
Climate change, the economic crisis following the Covid-19 pandemic, and armed conflicts throughout the world have aggravated the global food crisis (see e.g., here, p. 6-7 and here). Regarding specifically the latter, in 2018, the UN Security Council issued...
Ukraine Symposium – Russiaâs “Re-Education” Camps: Grave Violations Against Children in Armed Conflict
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Childrenâs Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. The warrants allege that Putin...
Ukraine Symposium â Landmines and the War in Ukraine
Human Rights Watch has documented the use of both anti-vehicle and anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine. Following reports that Ukraine is using anti-personnel landmines (APLs) in violation of the Ottawa Convention, the Ukrainian authorities acknowledged this...
Responsible AI Symposium – Prioritizing Humanitarian AI as part of âResponsible AIâ
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestnerâs and Professor Sean...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Reading the Lieber Code as Strategic Lawfare
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs edited volumes Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. A book launch...
Ukraine Symposium – âDamn the Torpedoes!â: Naval Mines in the Black Sea
For over a century the immortal battle cry of Rear Admiral Farragut has sounded throughout naval lore â âDamn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead.â As it turns out, what Admiral Farragut was damning are what we would today refer to as naval contact mines. Since that era,...
Ukraine Symposium – The Law of Crowdsourced War: Democratized Supply Chains – Part II
In the first of this two-part post addressing the legal and practical implications of democratized supply chains, I focused on the individual risks that those who engage in these activities incur. I explored whether their actions can amount to direct participation in...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium – Dharma and Ancient Indian Military Laws in the MahÄbhÄrata
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel Whiteâs edited volumes Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Wattsâs introductory post. A book launch...
Laws of Yesterdayâs Wars Symposium â Introduction
There is a mythology, easily rebuffed, that the laws of war started with the Lieber Code. While General Orders No. 100 guided and shaped the modern law of armed conflict (LOAC) or international humanitarian law (IHL), the regulation and legal mitigation of the horrors...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Protecting POWs in Contemporary Conflicts
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which was published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Ukraine Symposium â Seizure of Russian State Assets: State Immunity and Countermeasures
On 24 February 2023, the United Kingdom (UK) government objected to the Seizure of Russian State Assets and Support for Ukraine Bill in the House of Commons, proposed legislation that would require the government to put measures in place to seize frozen Russian State...
Ukraine Symposium â The Law of Belligerent Occupation
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has raised important and timely issues regarding the application, implementation, and enforcement of the law of armed conflict. Particularly relevant, is the law of occupation. Unfortunately, this discrete subset of the law of armed...
Ukraine Symposium – Reprisals in International Humanitarian Law
The scale and scope of international humanitarian law (IHL) violations by Russian and associated forces during the conflict in Ukraine are staggering. Yet, Russia has justified some of its operations as retaliatory responses to alleged Ukrainian misdeeds. For...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Application of the Third Geneva Convention in Proxy Warfare
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Ukraine Symposium – The Law of Crowdsourced War: Democratized Supply Chains – Part I
âInfantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.â General Pershingâs oft cited maxim of warfare is once again proving itself out in Ukraine. Thankfully, from the outset of Russiaâs ill-conceived war of aggression, its progress has been hampered by poorly maintained...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – âAccompanying the Forceâ in Modern Armed Conflict
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Parole: The Past, Present, and Future
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Ukraine One Year On â Defying the Odds
On 24 February 2023, one year has passed since Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The past year has been filled with acts of aggression, war crimes, and continued atrocities. International humanitarian law (IHL) is one of the most profound and...
Ukraine Symposium â The Wagner Group: Status and Accountability
Since Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Wagner Group has come out of the shadows. Used by the Kremlin as an alternative fighting force since 2014, the private military company (PMC) now operates with a much greater degree of...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium â Military Assimilation and the Third Geneva Convention
Editor's note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict
Following the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launch of its updated Commentary on the 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, West Pointâs Lieber Institute on Law and Warfare intended to convene an expert-driven workshop...
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Prosecuting War Crimes Symposium – Justice for Victims of [Some] War Crimes Act?
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at a Lieber Institute expert workshop focusing on Prosecuting War Crimes. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Professor Sean Watts and Jennifer Maddocksâs introductory post. Recent years...
Ukraine Symposium â Field-Modified Weapons under the Law of War
Combatants in armed conflict may choose to modify weapons in the field for a variety of reasons. They may modify them to improve their reliability. They may alter them to increase their range or accuracy. Or they may adapt them to novel purposes. During the...
Prosecuting War Crimes Symposium â German Domestic Prosecutorial Experience
Editorâs note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at a Lieber Institute expert workshop focusing on Prosecuting War Crimes. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Professor Sean Watts and Jennifer Maddocksâs introductory post. The...
Ukraine Symposium – The Legal and Practical Challenges of Surrendering to Drones
As part of the Articles of War âYear Aheadâ series published earlier this year, Board of Advisor member Professor Gary Solis predicted that several legal issues pertaining to the law of armed conflict (LOAC) will likely see significant development soon, including...
