The conduct of hostilities under the law of international armed conflict

"This is the seminal textbook on the law of international armed conflict, written by the leading commentator on the subject. Focusing on issues arising in the course of hostilities between States, it explores lawful and unlawful combatants, war crimes, prohibited weapons, the distinction between combatants and civilians, legitimate military objectives, and the protection of the environment and cultural property. The title's exploration of the law as it applies to recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan underlines the topicality of the subject. Recent increased case law and treaties are explored. In addition, Professor Dinstein comments on the ICRC project on Direct Participation in Hostilities and the Harvard HPCR project on Air and Missile Welfare. In this new edition, the most complex fields in the subject are made more accessible to the student, while the academic rigour which was a hallmark of the first edition is retained"--Provided by publisher. "740. Law must not be confused with liturgy. It is not enough to enact and reiterate the law: to be meaningful, norms must be adhered to in reality. The nature of LOIAC is such that Belligerent Parties tend constantly to trade reciprocal accusations of breaches and worse. Absent effective modalities of supervision and dispute settlement, there is no way to guarantee that LOIAC is actually implemented. No enforcement mechanisms established thus far have been crowned with outstanding success. There is a growing acknowledgement of the need to prosecute and punish war criminals for serious breaches of LOIAC, but the long-term success of the ICC is still a matter of conjecture. The issue of securing a more efficacious implementation of LOIAC is not likely to fade away in the foreseeable future. 741. It is nevertheless a gross mistake to believe (as some observers do) that better implementation is the sole major item on the present agenda of LOIAC. A legal system requires clarity, on the one hand, and adaptability to changing circumstances, on the other. In theory, the broad brush strokes of LOIAC are beyond dispute. The two cardinal principles of distinction and unnecessary suffering, plus the principle of proportionality in attack, are elevated to the pinnacle of the law regulating the conduct of hostilities in international armed conflict. However, as one descends from abstractions to practicalities, consensus shrinks. 742. The 'Great Schism', separating Contracting Parties of Additional Protocol I from some key players in the international arena led by the US, has catapulted many unsettled questions to the fore. The more than three decades"--Provided by publisher.