Series
Through the Drone Looking Glass: Visualization Technologies and Military Decision-Making
On 29 August 2021, the U.S. military launched its last drone strike in Afghanistan before American troops withdrew from the country. The strike targeted a white Toyota Corolla near Kabul’s international airport, driven by Zemari Ahmadi, believed to be carrying an ISIS...
Improving Compliance with IHL: A Long-Term Enterprise
It is difficult to talk about the mission and mandate of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (the Movement) without talking about international humanitarian law (IHL) and vice-versa. The two are inextricably linked and continue to influence and guide...
Legal Advice in Modern Aerial Warfare
Military lawyers play an increasingly vital role in lethal (and non-lethal) targeting operations. Although their involvement is operationally and geographically provisional, legal advice is transforming the way that contemporary war is fought and understood. I spent...
Military Partners and the Obligation to “Ensure Respect” for IHL
The Common Article 1 obligation to “ensure respect” for international humanitarian law (IHL) has become a topic of considerable reflection and debate. The extent to which States must influence others to respect the Conventions is a thorny and unresolved issue. Yet,...
Joint Symposium: Oxford Forum for International Humanitarian Law Compliance
This is the first post in a joint symposium hosted by EJIL:Talk and Articles of War, the blog of the Lieber Institute at West Point. The symposium reflects a series of conversations held in the context of the Oxford Forum for International Humanitarian Law Compliance,...
Ntaganda Appeals Chamber Judgment Divided on Meaning of “Attack”
On 30 March 2021, the International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber issued its judgment in the Ntaganda case. The judgment, which primarily responds to the appeal submitted by Bosco Ntaganda against his conviction for numerous counts of crimes against humanity and war...
Military Considerations and the Ntaganda “Attack” Question
This post concludes our series featuring the International Criminal Court’s recent hearings on the legal notion of “attack.” As co-editors-in-chief, we wish to extend our sincere gratitude to our contributors. As scholars of the law of war, we wish to add a few...
The Unintended Consequences of International Court Decisions
In response to a prosecution appeal in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently considering the meaning of “attack” under the Rome Statute. The Court’s decision, however, could have consequences that...
“Attacks” against Hospitals and Cultural Property: Broad in Time, Broad in Substance
On behalf of the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), we recently filed an amicus curiae brief with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the appellate case of Bosco Ntaganda. In this post, we will briefly discuss the main arguments we raised...
Motive and Control in Defining Attacks
In the appellate case of The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court asked for briefs from “qualified publicists with the requisite expertise, who are interested in submitting observations on” the definition of “attack” as...
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 the International Criminal Court, should look first to the treaties—and “attack” is no different. Indeed, as is well...
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 precisely a year prior to the time of this writing. The Prosecution argument attempts to expand the war crime found in the Rome...
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 war (international humanitarian law) community and those working in international criminal law. How should the meaning of...