Reflections on the Law of Occupation: Afghanistan and Iraq

Reflections on the Law of Occupation: Afghanistan and Iraq

Reflections on the Law of Occupation: Afghanistan and Iraq ​A recent  New York Times article discussed, in part, the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, raising important, yet underexplored, questions about occupations under the law of armed conflict (LOAC). The...
A Primer on the ICJ’s Upcoming Armed Activities Reparations Judgment

A Primer on the ICJ’s Upcoming Armed Activities Reparations Judgment

A Primer on the ICJ’s Upcoming Armed Activities Reparations Judgment ​ On February 9, 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will render its judgment on the question of reparations in the Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo case between the...
Non-Binding Norms in the Law of Armed Conflict

Non-Binding Norms in the Law of Armed Conflict

Non-Binding Norms in the Law of Armed Conflict In the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Bush administration appointees criticized the Geneva Conventions as being, among other things, obsolete and out of date. Indeed, one of the consistent criticisms of...
Attacking Dams – Part II: The 1977 Additional Protocols

Attacking Dams – Part II: The 1977 Additional Protocols

Attacking Dams – Part II: The 1977 Additional Protocols A recent New York Times report of a 2017 attack by U.S. forces against the Tabqa Dam in Syria has sparked controversy and criticism. In Part I of this series, I described reports of that incident and...
Hollywood and the Laws of War

Hollywood and the Laws of War

Hollywood and the Laws of War Common Article 1 of Geneva Conventions of August 1949 (CA 1) imposes a legal obligation on all States, as parties to the Conventions, to respect and to ensure respect, in all circumstances, for international humanitarian law (IHL)....
Attacking Dams – Part I: Customary International Law

Attacking Dams – Part I: Customary International Law

Attacking Dams – Part I: Customary International Law The New York Times recently reported on a March 2017 airstrike by U.S. forces against the Tabqa Dam, the largest in Syria. At the time of the attack, U.S. forces were supporting Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)...