Detention
Prisoner of War Status and Nationals of the Detaining Power
As preparations for Ukraine’s spring 2023 offensive were underway, reports of Russian dissidents conducting cross-border raids from Ukraine into Russia began to surface. The groups were identified as the Liberty of Russia Legion (sometimes referred to as the Freedom...
Al Hassan Symposium – Understanding Rebel (Dis)Order in Al Hassan
Editor’s 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 Marchesi’s introductory post is...
Sabotage in Law: Meaning and Misunderstandings
On May 3, 2023, Russia accused Ukraine of attempting to “assassinate” President Vladimir Putin by launching two armed drones at the Kremlin in Moscow. Russia’s press service categorized the incident as a “planned terrorist attack,” and President Putin blamed Western...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Detention Operations in LSCOs: a U.S. Military Perspective
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Detention in Non-International Armed Conflict
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Rebellious Detention: Reflections on the ICRC Study on Detention by Non-State Armed Groups
Editor's note: We are delighted to publish this post on the subject of armed groups by Dr. Ezequiel Heffes. In addition to being a valued contributor to Articles of War, Dr. Heffes is an Editor of the blog Armed Groups and International Law, where readers can find...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – 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 Point’s Lieber Institute on Law and Warfare intended to convene an expert-driven workshop...
The Syrian Democratic Forces, Detained Foreign Fighters, and International Security Vulnerabilities
Three-and-a-half years since the United States, its coalition partners, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) overpowered the last redoubt of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), nearly 10,000 fighters remain in SDF custody in northeast Syria. These include...
Ukraine Symposium – Putting “Overall Control” to the Test of the Third Geneva Convention
Detention is a common feature of both international and non-international armed conflicts (IAC and NIAC). Despite the increasing convergence in the regulation of the two types of conflicts as a matter of customary law, the rules on detention remain different. The...
Status of Foreign Fighters in the Ukrainian Legion
Among other new resistance groups, Ukraine has formed an International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine (UKR Legion). There are reports that its members come from all over the world, including Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European...
Prisoners of War in Occupied Territory
It seems increasingly likely that the international armed conflict raging in Ukraine will devolve into a partial Russian occupation of large portions of Ukrainian territory. President Putin may very well declare annexation—or reincorporation—of that territory into...