Chapter

Targets

David Turns

Research handbook on international conflict and security law : jus ad bellum, jus in bello and jus post bellum

Cheltenham ; Northampton : E. Elgar, 2013

p. 342-374

English

This article examines the rules of international humanitarian law in governing targeting. Specifically, information concerning the military operations of the UK army and NATO forces is analysed. The four principles relevant to determining the legality of an attack as set out in the Additional Protocol I (API) of 1977—military necessity, humanity, distinction and proportionality—are analyzed. Distinctions between different types of targets, people versus objects and civilian versus military are discussed, as well as how the rules on targeting have changed from the mid-17th century onwards as the methods of conducting war have changed. It is argued that the interaction and balancing of the four principles helps to determine if an attack is legal under the modern law of targeting. Also addressed are controversies surrounding who is a direct participant in hostilities, how to deal with voluntary human shields, how to define military objectives, and how to measure proportionality and collateral damage. It is noted that many nations, including some of those that have been in armed conflicts since the 1980s such as the USA, Israel, India and Pakistan, have not yet ratified the API or agreed to the rules on targeting. Finally, the author explores how the laws of targeting affect NATO, British and American practices. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

• Research handbook on international conflict and security law : jus ad bellum, jus in bello and jus post bellum / Ed. by Nigel D. White, Christian Henderson