Killing in a Gray Area between Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

Killing in a Gray Area between Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Author: Jan Römer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2010-01-12
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3642046622

Armed forces can be confronted with the problem of correctly classifying a targeted group as one that is or is not party to an armed conflict. In particular, this happens in a context of a high level of violence where a non-international armed conflict is (likely) occurring at the same time, such as in Iraq, Afghanistan, Brazil or Mexico. The difficulty of qualifying the targeted group leads to a legal uncertainty in which it is unclear whether an operation is governed by international humanitarian law or the international law of human rights. The problem is of particular interest when lethal force is resorted to, as killing might be illegal under one of the two branches. The book attempts to provide guidance on how this uncertainty can be overcome. In order to do so, the requirements to kill under IHL and human rights law are analyzed and compared, as well as assessed in concrete operations of the National Police of Colombia who face this problem on a regular basis.

Targeted Killing in International Law

Targeted Killing in International Law
Author: Nils Melzer
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
Total Pages: 523
Release: 2008-05-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199533164

This title examines the international lawfulness of state-sponsored targeted killings in military and police operations. Analysing recent state practice and jurisprudence, it establishes when targeted killing may be considered lawful, and what legal restraints are imposed on the practice in times of war and peace.

Customary International Humanitarian Law

Customary International Humanitarian Law
Author: Jean-Marie Henckaerts
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 610
Release: 2005-03-03
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0521808995

Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I: Rules is a comprehensive analysis of the customary rules of international humanitarian law applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts. In the absence of ratifications of important treaties in this area, this is clearly a publication of major importance, carried out at the express request of the international community. In so doing, this study identifies the common core of international humanitarian law binding on all parties to all armed conflicts. Comment Don:RWI.

Transnational Conflicts and International Law

Transnational Conflicts and International Law
Author: Constantin von der Groeben
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2014-11-06
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3735759262

Ever since 9/11 the legal classification of transnational conflicts between states and non-state armed groups, such as Al Qaeda, has become a highly debated topic. While repeatedly referred to as the War on Terror, the legal qualification of the conflict between the US and Al Qaeda remains controversial: US military operations in Afghanistan against Al Qaeda and the use of drones against alleged terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and other states pose the question as to whether this conflict truly qualifies as one single global war. Similarly, transnational conflicts such as the Colombian operation against a FARC base in Ecuador, Israel’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Turkish operations against the PKK in northern Iraq pose difficulties as they transcend individual nations˙ political systems and geographical borders. Whether the law of war (i.e. humanitarian law) is applicable to such conflicts and to what extent human rights law binds the states involved is debated. This work aims to provide structure to the current debate and analyzes the applicability of both humanitarian law and human rights law. Furthermore, it examines and explores approaches to enhance and develop the existing legal framework, including proposed new legal regimes for transnational conflicts. The author argues against the strict separation of international humanitarian law and human rights law and instead borrows from Colombian authorities’ experience in their struggle with the FARC to develop an alternate solution, combining both legal regimes in an integrated approach.

War Without Quarter

War Without Quarter
Author: Human Rights Watch (Organization)
Publisher: Human Rights Watch
Total Pages: 254
Release: 1998
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781564321879

The laws of war and Colombia

Armed Conflicts and the Environment

Armed Conflicts and the Environment
Author: Anne Dienelt
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2022-08-12
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3030993396

The book rethinks the means of harmonization of prima facie norm conflicts in light of the multitude of international agreements across regimes. The methodology deployed in this book, which is referred to as complementation or complementary application, represents a novel approach by focusing on commonly shared objectives and a unifying ordre public transnational across fields of public international law that allow for a harmonization beyond traditional treaty interpretation. Fields of public international law, mainly the laws of armed conflict, international environmental law, and human rights law, apply simultaneously to questions regarding the environment and war. Such a coexistence challenges the unity of the international legal order, and it also challenges the means of harmonization across fields of public international law. However, eventually, the co-existence of several fields of public international law can result in a refinement of international law and enhanced legal protection. Diversification can also contribute to clarification or normative intensification in areas of parallel application of various fields and multilayered legal protection, demonstrating a counter-option to fragmentation.

Cyber War

Cyber War
Author: Jens David Ohlin
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2015-03-19
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191027014

Cyber weapons and cyber warfare have become one of the most dangerous innovations of recent years, and a significant threat to national security. Cyber weapons can imperil economic, political, and military systems by a single act, or by multifaceted orders of effect, with wide-ranging potential consequences. Unlike past forms of warfare circumscribed by centuries of just war tradition and Law of Armed Conflict prohibitions, cyber warfare occupies a particularly ambiguous status in the conventions of the laws of war. Furthermore, cyber attacks put immense pressure on conventional notions of sovereignty, and the moral and legal doctrines that were developed to regulate them. This book, written by an unrivalled set of experts, assists in proactively addressing the ethical and legal issues that surround cyber warfare by considering, first, whether the Laws of Armed Conflict apply to cyberspace just as they do to traditional warfare, and second, the ethical position of cyber warfare against the background of our generally recognized moral traditions in armed conflict. The book explores these moral and legal issues in three categories. First, it addresses foundational questions regarding cyber attacks. What are they and what does it mean to talk about a cyber war? The book presents alternative views concerning whether the laws of war should apply, or whether transnational criminal law or some other peacetime framework is more appropriate, or if there is a tipping point that enables the laws of war to be used. Secondly, it examines the key principles of jus in bello to determine how they might be applied to cyber-conflicts, in particular those of proportionality and necessity. It also investigates the distinction between civilian and combatant in this context, and studies the level of causation necessary to elicit a response, looking at the notion of a 'proximate cause'. Finally, it analyses the specific operational realities implicated by particular regulatory regimes. This book is unmissable reading for anyone interested in the impact of cyber warfare on international law and the laws of war.

The 'Legal Pluriverse' Surrounding Multinational Military Operations

The 'Legal Pluriverse' Surrounding Multinational Military Operations
Author: Robin Geiß
Publisher:
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2020
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0198842961

This book conceptualizes and examines theories of the 'Legal Pluriverse': the multiplicity of rules that regulate multinational missions and the diverse actors involved. The book sets out the various legal regimes, assesses how these rules interact, and exposes norm conflicts, areas of legal uncertainty, or ambiguous loopholes.

Fighting at the Legal Boundaries

Fighting at the Legal Boundaries
Author: Kenneth Watkin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 729
Release: 2016
Genre: Law
ISBN: 019045797X

Fighting at the Legal Boundaries offers a holistic approach towards the application of the various constitutive parts of international law. The author focuses on the interaction between the applicable bodies of law by exploring whether their boundaries are improperly drawn, or are being interpreted in too rigid a fashion. Emphasis is placed on the disconnect that can occur between theory and practice regarding how these legal regimes are applied and interact with one another. Through a number of case studies, Fighting at the Legal Boundaries explores how the threat posed by insurgents, terrorists, and transnational criminal gangs often occurs not only at the point where these bodies of law interact, but also in situations where there is significant overlap. In this regard, the exercise of the longstanding right of States to defend nationals, including the conduct of operations such as hostage rescue, can involve the application of human rights based law enforcement norms to counter threats transcending the conflict spectrum.