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War, Aggression and Self-Defence by Yoram Dinstein
"War has plagued homo sapiens since the dawn of recorded history and, at almost any particular moment in the annals of the species, it appears to be raging in at least a portion of the globe (frequently, in many places at one and the same time). War has consistently been a, perhaps the, most brutal human endeavour. If for no other reason, the subject of war should be examined and reexamined continuously. There is a tendency today to avoid the use of the term 'war', regarding it as arcane and largely superseded by the phrase 'international armed conflict'. However, apart from the fact that the expression 'war' - appearing as it does in many international instruments and constituting an integral part of a host of customary international legal norms - is far from outdated, a general reference to international armed conflicts ignores the important theoretical as well as practical distinctions existing between wars and other uses of inter-State force ('short of war')"--
- GenresLawNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 26, 2018
War and the Limits of International Law
An intricate consideration of the legal justifications and contemporary practice for engaging in armed conflict, with particular attention paid to the Hague Conventions, the Kellog-Briand Pact of 1928 and Articles 2 and Articles 39-51 (Section VII) of the UN Charter. Issue such as the bounds of limited reaction, the status and obligations of neutral parties, the applicability of International Law to non-State actors, the intended vs actual role of the Security Council and the meaning of collective self defense are examined in depth. The focus legal declarations of war but does not deal with the actions of individual soldiers and there is only a brief look at more extreme cases such as genocide which is covered in Section VIII of the Charter.
The cases and discussion throughout are excellent, illustrated genericly through the author's imaginative use of the hypothetical modern nations Arcadia, Numidia Utopia, Patagonia and so forth. Dinstein also analyzes interesting real world cases such the British destruction of the USS Carolina during the 1937 MacKenzie rebellion, American support of the Contras, Argentina's occupation of the Falklands, Israel's invasion of Lebanon and counter attacks against Hamas in Gaza, NATO's operations in the former Yugoslavia and of course the UN sanctioned but American led coalitions in Iraq and Afganistan.
There are some interesting conclusions as well. For example, Dinstein contends that in spite of a the Panmunjom Armistice Agreement of 1953 between N. and S. Korea, the two nations technically are still engaged in the same war, just as the 1981 Israeli bombing of the Osiraq reactors and the 1991 SCUD missile attacks can be viewed not as separate incidents or (in the latter case) as part of the 1st Gulf War, but as continuation of 1948. Another is the UNSC has essentially delegated peacekeeping to regional groups such as NATO on an adhoc basis rather than assuming that responsibility directly as permitted by the Charter. Once deputized these groups maintain their activities indefinitely and independent of UN direction.
It's not a particularly easy read for casual perusal as the book is designed for upper level courses in law and international relations, however one comes away with an excellent sense of how how the Law of Armed Conflict has evolved in modern times, what it covers, and realistically what it does not.
An intricate consideration of the legal justifications and contemporary practice for engaging in armed conflict, with particular attention paid to the Hague Conventions, the Kellog-Briand Pact of 1928 and Articles 2 and Articles 39-51 (Section VII) of the UN Charter. Issue such as the bounds of limited reaction, the status and obligations of neutral parties, the applicability of International Law to non-State actors, the intended vs actual role of the Security Council and the meaning of collective self defense are examined in depth. The focus legal declarations of war but does not deal with the actions of individual soldiers and there is only a brief look at more extreme cases such as genocide which is covered in Section VIII of the Charter.
The cases and discussion throughout are excellent, illustrated genericly through the author's imaginative use of the hypothetical modern nations Arcadia, Numidia Utopia, Patagonia and so forth. Dinstein also analyzes interesting real world cases such the British destruction of the USS Carolina during the 1937 MacKenzie rebellion, American support of the Contras, Argentina's occupation of the Falklands, Israel's invasion of Lebanon and counter attacks against Hamas in Gaza, NATO's operations in the former Yugoslavia and of course the UN sanctioned but American led coalitions in Iraq and Afganistan.
There are some interesting conclusions as well. For example, Dinstein contends that in spite of a the Panmunjom Armistice Agreement of 1953 between N. and S. Korea, the two nations technically are still engaged in the same war, just as the 1981 Israeli bombing of the Osiraq reactors and the 1991 SCUD missile attacks can be viewed not as separate incidents or (in the latter case) as part of the 1st Gulf War, but as continuation of 1948. Another is the UNSC has essentially delegated peacekeeping to regional groups such as NATO on an adhoc basis rather than assuming that responsibility directly as permitted by the Charter. Once deputized these groups maintain their activities indefinitely and independent of UN direction.
It's not a particularly easy read for casual perusal as the book is designed for upper level courses in law and international relations, however one comes away with an excellent sense of how how the Law of Armed Conflict has evolved in modern times, what it covers, and realistically what it does not.
September 18, 2008
Good coverage of the laws relating to the use of force / armed attack. Would be helpful to any attorney/officer who deals with when the use of force is appropriate.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews