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The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission and Gaza – How is it Involved?
On 20 June 2024, the government of the Republic of Poland signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) regarding the incident on April 1, 2024 in the Gaza Strip during which seven people working with the...
Space Privateers or Space Pirates? Armed Conflict, Outer Space, and the Attribution of Non-State Activities
Famously, George Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France at the end of the First World War, quipped that “generals always prepare to fight the last war, especially if they won it.” Such flaws of perspicacity, of course, are not limited to generals. After all, as Nobel...
Israel-Hamas 2024 Symposium – Pro-Israel Lawfare, Symbolism, or Genuine Legal Concern?
Israel often perceives itself at the receiving end of what today is termed “lawfare”: warfare by legal means or the use of strategic litigation to achieve in the courtroom what cannot be achieved on the battlefield. South Africa’s case against Israel or Nicaragua’s...
Lessons Learned from the Latest Rendition Cases at the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently finalized its judgment against Lithuania in a case involving Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) detainees. The ECtHR ordered Lithuania to pay Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi 130,000 Euros as redress for violations of the European...
Diversification of Civilian Agency: An Accountability Perspective
Several recent developments have challenged the traditionally assumed passivity of civilians in armed conflict. Most notable are calls to participate in a volunteer IT army, the facilitation of an app that can provide intelligence to armed forces, and calls to...
Precautions and Aerial Superiority or Supremacy
In modern armed conflict, belligerents must control the air domain. Air supremacy or air superiority is a precondition for success in land and naval operations. Simultaneously, belligerents must exercise “constant care to spare the civilian population, civilians and...
Multi-Domain Legal Warfare: China’s Coordinated Attack on International Rule of Law
Law has emerged as an integral element of gray zone competition. State and non-State actors alike increasingly view law as a means to shape operational spaces, forge perceptions of legitimacy, constrain potential adversaries, and refashion the international system,...
National Security Memorandum 20 and the Challenge of Operational End-Use Monitoring
Today, May 8, was the deadline for the Departments of Defense (DoD) and State to answer tough questions about how U.S. supplied weapons are being used in today’s conflicts, including those in Gaza and Ukraine. It appears that the delivery of their reports to Congress...
In Honor of Yoram Dinstein – Co-application of IHL and IHRL: Some Takeaways from the Ukraine and Gaza Wars
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Professor Yoram Dinstein, who passed away on Saturday February 10, 2024. These posts recognize Professor Dinstein’s work and the significant contribution his scholarship has made to our understanding of...
In Honor of Yoram Dinstein – Will the Separation Between Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello Survive the Conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza?
Editors’ note: This post is part of a series to honor Professor Yoram Dinstein, who passed away on Saturday February 10, 2024. These posts recognize Professor Dinstein’s work and the significant contribution his scholarship has made to our understanding of...
Palestine’s Quest for Full United Nations Membership
Amidst the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the United States vetoed Palestine’s latest bid for full acceptance as a member State of the United Nations (UN). In the view of the United States, the only way for a stable future between Israel and Palestine...
Retaliation, Retribution, and Punishment and International Law
On April 13, Iran launched a massive missile and drone attack on Israel. Hezbollah and Houthi attacks took place contemporaneously. Israel, alongside forces from France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Jordan, successfully neutralized most of these threats,...
