Topics
When Red Lines Cross Blue Lines: Cyber Attacks on Poland’s Water Infrastructure – Part II
In Part I of this post, we addressed the threshold issue of whether cyber operations targeting water infrastructure qualify as attacks, thus bringing international humanitarian law (IHL)’s targeting rules into effect. This post assumes that the threshold for an attack...
An Occupying Power’s Authority to Conclude Treaties for Occupied Territories
Can an occupying power conclude treaties relating to the occupied territory? Can it do so solely in its own name or also in the name of the State whose territory is occupied? No clear answer yet exists for these questions, though a short and recent account, especially...
When Red Lines Cross Blue Lines: Cyber Attacks on Poland’s Water Infrastructure – Part I
While the digital transformation of water treatment plants, distribution networks, and dams has created significant efficiencies, few civilian infrastructure systems link digital control so tightly to physical effects. In water systems, access to control interfaces...
Anti-Personnel Mines in a Post-Hostilities Environment: The Case of Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict
Few contemporary conflicts have been as deeply saturated with landmines as the protracted confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Over three decades of intermittent warfare and fortified front lines have produced extensive mine contamination across battle zones,...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – 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 Yesterday’s Wars: reciprocity. This idea of reciprocal compliance or restraint in conflict is not framed identically in every...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – African Traditions and the Preservation of Humanity during Warfare
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White’s introductory post. Africa’s diverse societies...
Pushing Boundaries: Domestic Courts and Legislatures as the New Laboratory for War Crimes Law
War crimes belong to the category of so-called “core” international crimes over which the International Criminal Court (ICC) wields jurisdiction. Under the complementarity principle, States have primary responsibility for the prosecution of war crimes, implying that...
Military Animals in Armed Conflict
For much of human history, armies have relied on military animals to prosecute wars. Horses have served as means of transportation and tactical maneuver since ancient times. Mules, donkeys, camels, and other pack animals have been critical to supplying armies in the...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Somali Traditions of Restraint
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White’s introductory post. Accounts of the laws of war...
The Terminological Architecture of the Jus in Bello: Law, Language and Warfare
The lexicon governing the conduct of hostilities is not a static collection of synonyms but a dynamic field of ideological contestation. For centuries, the body of international law that regulates the behaviour of belligerents and protects victims of conflict has been...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Jewish Ethics of War in the Torah
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White’s introductory post. The Torah contains one of...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Hittite Laws of War
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s fourth edited volume of Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White’s introductory post. The Hittite Empire, situated...
Biological Weapons: Why Strengthening the BWC Matters Now
Disease is a constant threat to humanity and in many instances, there is little that can be done to prevent its spread. As shown by the recent experience of SARS-CoV 2, infectious diseases are a serious health concern as well as a societal disruptor. It is therefore...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Introduction
The Laws of Yesterday’s 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...
How Lessons Learned from the CCW Can Help Guide the Regulation of AWS
Autonomous weapon systems have become a familiar set piece in contemporary International Humanitarian Law (IHL) debates. The questions are by now well-rehearsed: does the existing law of armed conflict already regulate these systems; can algorithms reliably...
The ICJ Obligations of Israel Advisory Opinion – Mass Deprivation and Preventive Protection
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring analysis of the 2025 International Court of Justice advisory opinion on obligations of Israel in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The introductory post to the series by Sean Watts is...
Of Evolving Belligerent Occupation Law: Old “Hague” Occupation and New “Geneva” Occupation
For years, the legal status of so-called “functional occupation” was unclear in international humanitarian law (IHL) (see, e.g., this 2012 work by Zwanenburg, Bothe, and Sassòli). In 2024, however, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) adopted a new take on...
Gamifying War: Reward Incentives and “Outlawry” in Armed Conflict
Both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict maintain incentive programs that reward soldiers for kills on the battlefield. Russia offers monetary bonuses for the destruction of enemy equipment, such as helicopters and tanks, while Ukraine awards points redeemable for...
The Moral Disorder of Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello Purity
In my last post, I argued why the law of armed conflict (LOAC) does not require the absolute separation of jus in bello and jus ad bellum. I also identified how leading thinkers throughout history understood the two to be inextricably, fundamentally linked, until very...
Lexical Imperfections in the Hague Regulations of 1907
The Hague Regulations (HR) annexed to the 1907 Hague Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land were the first reasonably general codification of the law of war (as it was then called) in modern times. Other conventions had codified certain matters...
Intelligence Wars: Sabotage in the Shadows of Conflict
Sabotage has suddenly gained a high profile in international dialogue about conflict. This occurs most obviously in the context of an evolving “gray zone conflict” with Russia linked to sabotage in European States (see here, here, and here). However, sabotage is also...
The Law of Neutrality in Situations of Belligerent Occupation
Today, very few situations of belligerent occupation exist. Yet, in a recent advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) analyzed international legal obligations that stem from belligerent occupation, including those respecting offers of humanitarian...
The Impact of AI-Enabled Capabilities on the Application of International Law in the Cyber Domain
This post describes the proceedings and conclusions of a workshop that brought together scholars, some with both operational and technical expertise, to discuss the emerging applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in military cyber operations. This virtual...
Of Open and Closed Systems – War Caught in Lotus and Anti-Lotus
Within every system of law there are open legal sub-systems that offer residual freedom to act and closed sub-systems where residual prohibitions prevail. In the first, the maxim is that what is not prohibited is permitted. In the second, that which is not allowed or...
Year Ahead 2026 – The Law of Cyber Operations
In 2026, the law governing cyber operations in armed conflict is unlikely to undergo dramatic change. Instead, trendlines from the first half of the decade will persist, as States remain reluctant to clarify how core IHL rules apply in cyber contexts, despite cyber...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – The Early Interface of IHL and Human Rights: Lessons from the Frontlines of Turkish Litigation
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. These posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. It is a...
Year Ahead 2026 – Poisoned Wells Before The War
In April 2026, and as part of my role at the National University of Singapore, I am hosting a regional conference on the intersection between artificial intelligence (AI) and international humanitarian law (IHL). The conference abstracts are, understandably, all about...
Reciprocity Without Retaliation: Rethinking Fairness in the Laws of War
Editors’ note: This post is the second in a series relating to the author’s book, The Persistence of Reciprocity in International Humanitarian Law, published by Cambridge University Press. The first post in the series is available here. In the first post of this...
A Japanese Perspective on Treaty Obligations Regarding Attacks To, From, or Within Space
As States begin to regard outer space as a war-fighting domain, Japan has followed suit. Although it had long interpreted “peaceful” use of outer space in the Outer Space Treaty (OST) as “non-military” use, seventeen years ago Japan changed its interpretation to...
Year in Review – 2025
2025 has been a year of persistent conflicts, evolving law of armed conflict (LOAC) questions, and contrasting views. At Articles of War, we strived to provide a platform for nuanced legal analysis and timely discussion in 200 posts, exploring how law restrains war in...
The Double Qualification of a Single Act of Belligerence
In the complex web of armed conflict classification, a problem has emerged in recent years linked to transnational armed conflicts that are breaking out and spilling into our troubled world. What is a transnational armed conflict? Let us first note that it is not a...
Clarity and Consequence: Autonomous Wingmen and the Rising Standard of Feasible Precautions
The U.S. Air Force’s and Anduril’s ambitious wingman program, Fury, has already lifted off. Its designers intend Fury and comparable attritable collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) to draw fire, extend sensor range, and provide human pilots with additional seconds of...
Articles of War Editorial Board Changes
Managing Editor We are pleased to congratulate Professor Jenny Maddocks on joining the faculty of the University of Reading School of Law. She will fit perfectly with the already formidable team of international law scholars at Reading. We will miss her greatly at the...
International Humanitarian Law as Jus Cogens
International peremptory norms have received a variety of definitions and constructions. The definition relevant to the law of treaties states: a peremptory norm is such if it cannot be derogated from by a special legal act, i.e. if it cannot be replaced inter partes...
Prisoner of War Repatriation and Interpretive Choice – Part III: A Lesson from Military History?
Parts I and II of this three-part post outlined the legal framework applicable to post-war repatriation of prisoners of war and highlighted two prominent fault lines in its interpretation and implementation by States. This final part recounts an often-forgotten...
Prisoner of War Repatriation and Interpretive Choice – Part II: Involuntary Post-War Repatriation
Part I of this three-part post outlined the law of war applicable to post-war repatriation of prisoners of war. It further recounted how questions concerning reciprocity have arisen from repatriation efforts. This part considers the difficult and close question of...
Prisoner of War Repatriation and Interpretive Choice – Part I: The Legal Framework and Reciprocity
Prisoner of war repatriations have long been thorny, contentious post-war affairs. Disputes over their timing, scope, and implementation have routinely threatened relations between formerly warring States and resulted in prolonged and unconscionable suffering by...
Legal Reviews of War Algorithms: From Cyber Weapons to AI Systems
States are obliged to conduct legal reviews of new weapons, means, and methods of warfare. Legal reviews of artificial intelligence (AI) systems pose significant legal and practical challenges due to their technical and operational features. This post explores how...
Gaps and Seams in the Law of Armed Conflict for AI-Enabled Cyber Operations
The continued, robust use of cyber operations in both competition and conflict has inspired many States to express whether and how international law applies to cyber operations. While these attempts at clarity and consensus have led to some convergence of views and...
Anything Other Than a Classic NIAC: Examining Myanmar’s Legal Battlefield
Myanmar’s civil unrest is traditionally characterised as a non-international armed conflict (NIAC). It arguably represents one of the most enduring civil wars in modern history. For the past seven decades, since independence from British colonial rule, the State has...
The Ukrainian Attacks Against Gambian-Flagged Oil Tankers in the Black Sea
On October 28, 2025, Ukrainian so-called “Sea Baby drones” attacked two Gambian-flagged oil tankers, the Kairos and Virat. Whereas the vessels were severely damaged, no casualties were reported. Presumably, the ships are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” and are on a...
Can AI Teach Itself to Abuse IHL-Protected Indicators?
In war, there is every incentive to deceive. Thousands of years ago, humans learnt that misleading the enemy, dissimulating one’s intentions, and misrepresenting the truth often led to tangible tactical and operational benefits. Humans, however, also came to...
Tripwires to Trojans: Updating the Law of Booby-traps for the Digital Age
Articles of War has featured discussion of the law of armed conflict (LOAC) rules concerning booby-traps (see, e.g., here, here, here, and here). All have been based in the land domain. I am interested in the application of the idea in the cyber domain. Under the...
The ICJ Obligations of Israel Advisory Opinion – Qualifying Israel as an Occupying Power in the Gaza Strip
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring analysis of the 2025 International Court of Justice advisory opinion on obligations of Israel in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The introductory post to the series by Sean Watts is...
Reservations in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Validity
Twenty-three States have appended some declarations when ratifying or acceding to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (GCs). Not all these declarations embody reservations. According to the law of treaties, the term “reservation” designates “a unilateral statement, however...
Belligerent Reprisals Series – Concluding Thoughts
The posts by Stuart Casey-Maslen and Veronika Bílková (in addition to previous ones written on the topic by Michael Schmitt and Lindsay Moir) have shed light on several aspects associated with belligerent reprisals, stressing the many difficult questions that continue...
Belligerent Reprisals Series – Enforcement, Reciprocity, and the Elusive NIAC Dimension
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series related to Francesco Romani’s book “Belligerent Reprisals from Enforcement to Reciprocity” published by Cambridge University Press. Few institutions in international humanitarian law (IHL) arouse as much unease as...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Parsing Proportionality
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. These posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. It is a...
Belligerent Reprisals Series – Reprisals with Weapons
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series related to Francesco Romani’s book “Belligerent Reprisals from Enforcement to Reciprocity” published by Cambridge University Press. Francesco’s impressive work on belligerent reprisals and this series are welcome reminders...
Belligerent Reprisals Series – Changing the Paradigm to Rein in Retaliation in Armed Conflict
Editors’ note: This post introduces a series related to Francesco Romani’s book Belligerent Reprisals from Enforcement to Reciprocity published by Cambridge University Press. In its centuries-old development, modern international humanitarian law (IHL) has...
The ICJ Obligations of Israel Advisory Opinion – How Indispensable Is the UN After All?
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring analysis of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Obligations of Israel as an Occupying Power. The introductory post to the series by Sean Watts is available here. In late October 2025, the...
Military Objective or Civilian Object? The Italian National Cybersecurity Agency’s Status in Case of Armed Conflict
The increasing reliance of States on cyber infrastructure for both civilian and military purposes has generated renewed debate on the protection of such infrastructure under international humanitarian law (IHL). The Italian National Cybersecurity Agency (Agenzia per...
Why Reciprocity Refuses to Die: The Enduring Logic of Fairness in War
International humanitarian law (IHL) is often described as a triumph of principle over pragmatism; a set of rules meant to restrain war even when all else is breaking down. After all, the Geneva Conventions (1949) promise protection “in all circumstances” not just...
Future of Warfare and Law Series – Legal Reviews of Autonomous Weapons at the Tactical Edge
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring topics discussed during the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium. Christina Colclough’s introductory post is available here. The Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium (hereinafter, the...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – The Persistent Challenge of IHRL Bodies’ Review of Battlefield Situations
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. These posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. In 2022,...
Future of Warfare and Law Series – The Law and LAWS
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring topics discussed during the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium. Christina Colclough’s introductory post is available here. In May of 2025, the third Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium...
Future of Warfare and Law Series – Addressing Uncertainty in the Use of Autonomous Weapons Systems
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series featuring topics discussed during the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium. LTC Christina Colclough’s introductory post is available here. The Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium, which took place in May...
Future of Warfare and Law Series – Introduction
Editors’ note: This post introduces a series featuring topics discussed during the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law Symposium. This past May, a community of military legal scholars and technical experts met at the Third Annual Future of Warfare and the Law...
Beyond the State: Reforming Africa’s Anti-Torture Framework to Address Non-State Violence
African countries have made significant strides in ratifying international anti-torture instruments like the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT). UNCAT Article 1 defines torture as severe pain or suffering intentionally inflicted “by or at the instigation of or with...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Artificial Intelligence in Military Detention
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Professor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. The posts touch on a few issues—in this case detention—that Professor Hampson worked on and aim to pay tribute to the significant contribution her...
The Internal Proportionality Assessment in Cyberspace
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s Prosecutor v. Prlić et al. Appeals Chamber judgment, as well as the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission’s Western Front arbitral award found that a bridge and an electrical power station, respectively,...
The ICJ Obligations of Israel Advisory Opinion: A Quasi-Occupying Power?
On 22 October 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published an advisory opinion under the descriptive yet unwieldy title, Obligations of Israel in Relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Teaching and Operationalising LOAC
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. These posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. “In order for...
Military Use of Biometrics Series – The Body Does Not Lie, or Does It? Towards a Disability-Inclusive Approach to Military Biometrics
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series relating to the law applicable to the military use of biometrics. It is drawn from the author’s article-length work, “The Military Fantasy of Biometrics: Neglecting the Risks of the Normalizing of Bodies During Armed...
Military Use of Biometrics Series – Israel’s Use of AI-DSS and Facial Recognition Technology: The Erosion of Civilian Protection in Gaza
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series relating to the law applicable to the military use of biometrics. It is drawn from the author’s article-length work, “The Use of the ‘Lavender’ in Gaza and the Law of Targeting: AI-Decision Support Systems and Facial...
Military Use of Biometrics Series – Necrometrics and Contextualising Human Remains in Armed Conflict
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series relating to the law applicable to the military use of biometrics. It is drawn from the author’s article-length work, “Biometrics to Necrometrics: What the Dead Can Tell Us About War” appearing in the Journal of...
Military Use of Biometrics Series – Introduction
On 7-8 May 2024, a conference brought together a group of scholars and practitioners to discuss the law applicable to the use of biometrics by armed forces. The conference, which took place in Tallinn, Estonia, was organized by the War Studies Research Centre (WSRC)...
A Decisive Moment Concerning Individual Rights and the Law of War?
The question of whether individuals can hold rights under international law has hovered at the edges of international jurisprudence for a century. From the Permanent Court of International Justice’s 1928 Opinion on Jurisdiction of the Courts of Danzig, through the...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Calibrating the Balance Between Military Necessity and Humanity in LOAC Practice
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. These posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. Reflecting on 30...
Detention Operations on the Korean Peninsula: Historical Insights and Legal Risks
The United States Military Academy (USMA) offers internships and immersion programs every summer as part of the Academic Individual Advanced Development (AIAD) initiative to expand cadets’ knowledge through experiential learning. Within this program, the West Point...
Mission Command Responsibility
When Justice Paul Brereton’s report on alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan was released, it sent shockwaves in Australia and internationally. It confronted and confirmed uncomfortable truths: that within Australia’s most elite military units, a small number...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Fact-Finding in Law of Armed Conflict Investigations
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. These posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. In preparing to...
Tentative Remarks on Ukraine’s Suspension of the Ottawa Convention
On June 29, 2025, the President of Ukraine signed a decree on the withdrawal of Ukraine from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, otherwise known as the Ottawa Convention....
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – A Remembrance
Editors’ note: This post introduces a series to honor Françoise Hampson, who passed away on April 18, 2025. The posts recognize Professor Hampson’s work and the significant contribution her scholarship made to our understanding of international law. Professor...
In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Series Introduction
In early 2022, Françoise contacted me, offering to write a two-part post for Articles of War. I was, of course, thrilled at the prospect of adding her to our roll of contributors and sharing her insights with our readers. She had long before cemented her place as an...
The Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine: French Legal Thought and the Law of War – Part II
Editors’ note: This is the second in a two-part post illustrating the impact of French legal thought on the formation of the law of war with a specific focus on the Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine. The first entry provided a brief background on Jean-Jacques Rousseau and...
The Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine: French Legal Thought and the Law of War – Part I
Editors’ note: This is the first in a two-part post illustrating the impact of French legal thought on the formation of the law of war with a specific focus on the Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine. The first post provides a brief background on Jean-Jacques Rousseau and...
Typology of Reservations Contrary to the Object and Purpose of a Treaty and their Application to IHL
If a treaty is silent on the right of a contracting party to make reservations, then according to Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), the principal consideration is the compatibility of the reservation in question with the object and...
Revisiting Customary IHL Series – Getting it right? Challenges and Shortcomings in the Identification of Customary IHL
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series relating to the ICRC’s Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, featured across Articles of War and Völkerrechtsblog. The introductory post is available here. The series highlights presentations delivered at the...
Revisiting Customary IHL Series – Non finito: Should the Study also Identify Norms that Are not Custom?
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series relating to the ICRC's Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, featured across Articles of War and Völkerrechtsblog. The introductory post is available here. The series highlights presentations delivered at the...
Revisiting Customary IHL Series – Study 2.0 Featuring the Martens Clause: Tool Rather Than Subject
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series relating to the ICRC's Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, featured across Articles of War and Völkerrechtsblog. The introductory post is available here. The series highlights presentations delivered at the...
Revisiting Customary IHL Series – A Question of Methodology: Should International Criminal Law Shape IHL?
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series relating to the ICRC's Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, featured across Articles of War and Völkerrechtsblog. The introductory post is available here. The series highlights presentations delivered at the...
Revisiting Customary IHL Series – The ICRC’s Study at 20
Editors’ note: This post introduces a series relating to the ICRC's Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, featured across Articles of War and Völkerrechtsblog. The series highlights presentations delivered at the young researchers' workshop, Customary IHL:...
When Belligerent Drones Knock on Neutral Waters: Archipelagic Sea Lanes in the Age of Kamikaze Systems
In 2024 to 2025, escalating tensions between Israel and Iran saw waves of missiles and drones cross regional skies. Jordan, a neutral (non-belligerent) State, intercepted many of these projectiles as they entered its airspace. From an international law perspective,...
Is There a Victim State Exemption from Immunity Ratione Personae Accruing to Heads of Aggressor States?
When considering the application of immunity ratione personae to heads of aggressor States, we invariably assume that it applies erga omnes, that is, vis-à-vis the criminal jurisdiction of all foreign States. How sound is that assumption? Ample State practice and...
The Ban on Force or the System: What’s Really Dying?
In the past year, a growing chorus of voices has warned that the international “rule-based” order—along with the prohibition on the use of force—is unraveling, with the United States poised to withdraw from the very system it once built. This post does not seek to...
Exceptions to the Separation Between the Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello
According to canonic learning and overwhelming practice, the rules of the jus ad bellum and those of the jus in bello are separated in the sense that the application of each depends on its own legal triggers and regulations. This principle of separation works both...
The Baltic Defense Line: Military Necessity and Civilian Protection on NATO’s Eastern Flank
Europe’s easternmost flank is undergoing one of the most strategically calibrated defensive preparations since the Cold War. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are coordinating the construction of the Baltic Defense Line, a sophisticated network of trenches, bunkers,...
Operation Spider Web and Instrumentalizing Civilian Objects
On 1 June 2025, in one of the boldest operations of the war, Ukraine carried out a massive surprise attack against Russian military installations. The attack, known as Operation Spider Web, was carried out by drones and resulted in significant damage to strategically...
Gravitational Points of the 19th Century Law of War
When considering today’s armed conflicts, it may be interesting to devote a glimpse to the systematic pillars on which the 19th century law of war was constructed. On what main strands was that law erected and layered? How did it differ from the international...
Is Lawfare for Lawyers?
A growing body of scholarship is engaged with the threat of hostile “lawfare” or “legal warfare.” This scholarship is driven by lawyers, legal professionals, and individuals affiliated with military and government legal advisory communities. Almost all this...
Unleashing Drone Dominance: Rethinking Department of Defense Weapons Reviews
In November 2001, the United States conducted what is considered to be the first ever armed drone attack in Afghanistan. Over the next twenty years, the United States dominated the production of large unmanned systems that cost millions of dollars each to produce. In...
CyCon 2025 Series – Legal Reviews of Military Artificial Intelligence Capabilities
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series that features presentations at this year’s 17th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) in Tallinn, Estonia. Its subject will be explored further as part of a chapter in the forthcoming book International Law and...
CyCon 2025 Series – AI-Enabled Offensive Cyber Operations: Legal Challenges in the Shadows of Automation
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series that features presentations at this year’s 17th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) in Tallinn, Estonia. Its subject will be explored further as part of a chapter in the forthcoming book International Law and...
CyCon 2025 Series – Deciding with AI Systems: Rethinking Dynamics in Military Decision-Making
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series that features presentations at this year's 17th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) in Tallinn, Estonia. Its subject will be explored further as part of a chapter in the forthcoming book International Law and...
CyCon 2025 Series – Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: The Current State of International Law
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series that features presentations at this year's 17th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) in Tallinn, Estonia. Its subject will be explored further as part of a chapter in the forthcoming book International Law and...
Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict CyCon 2025 Series – Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as the defining disruptive technology of our time. While academics lament the supposed imminent demise of college writing, people turn to ChatGPT instead of their therapists, and agentic AI dangles the promise of an...
Is Nuclear Weapons Law Stopping the Nukes?
Editors’ Note: This post draws upon the book, The Law on Nuclear Weapons: An International Commentary edited by the authors and published in 2025 by Edward Elgar. It is always difficult to know for sure why political leaders and senior members of the armed forces...
Indirect or Reverberating Excessive Collateral Damage in Modern IHL
Article 51(5)(b), of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 codifies the rule or principle of proportionality in offensive or defensive attacks in the following terms, Among others, the following types of attacks are to be considered as...
Indiscriminate Attacks, Proportionality and the Meaning of “Incidental” Civilian Harm
Editors’ note: This post is based on the author’s article, “Indiscriminate Attacks and the Proportionality Rule: What is Incidental Civilian Harm?” in the Journal of Conflict and Security Law. What does it mean for civilian harm to be “incidental” within the meaning...
