Articles of War

Is the Lieber Code Humanitarian?
Some critics maintain that the Lieber Code is not humanitarian. They are surprised and disappointed that Francis Lieber—one of the fathers of the modern law of war and an inspiration for the Hague Conferences—fails to meet their expectations. But such...
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The U.S. Landmine Policy Complies with International Law
In late January, the United States replaced the Obama Administration’s 2016 landmine policy, which was first introduced in 2014. That policy...
The Definition of an “Attack” under the Law of Armed Conflict
As in any branch of international law, examining the meaning of a law of armed conflict (LOAC) term, and its incorporation in the Rome Statute of...
A Radical Reimagining of the Concept of “Attack”
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) filed its Appeals Brief In the Case of the Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda on 7 October 2019, almost...
Symposium Intro: The ICC Considers the Definition of “Attack”
The Ntaganda case—currently pending before the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber—raises an issue of importance to both the law of...
Biometrics on the Battlefield
We use biometrics on a daily basis. You need only think of unlocking your phone with your fingerprint, using iris recognition to pass through...
The Efficacy of the U.S. Army’s Law of War Training Program
On July 2, 2020, the Department of Defense reissued DoD Directive 2311.01, the DoD Law of War Program.* Under the previous Directive, issued in...
The Importance of Clarity and Flexibility in the Law
Adherence to the law of armed conflict remains a bedrock value of professional militaries. The legal obligation of any professional military...
NATO in Outer Space: A Domain Too Far?
This post examines whether Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is applicable to armed attacks in outer space. NATO nations have recently...
The UN Soleimani Report and the U.S. Article 51 Notification
On July 9, 2020, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions released a report on the legality of targeted...
Whither Recognition of Belligerency?
Delineating, defining, and dealing with how the law of armed conflict applies to civil wars and other non-international armed conflicts...
Space Power, Space Force, and Space Law
Space is a unique operational domain not only due to its physics, but also due to its legal regime. Although Space Power, the inaugural...
Cyber Operations and The Imperfect Art of “Translating” the Law of War to New Technologies
Since the inception of combat as an organized endeavor, humans have innovated new means and methods of warfare to gain advantage over their...