Article

The age of the manual : the impact of the Manual on international law applicable to air and missile warfare

by Dale Stephens

• Israel yearbook on human rights, Vol. 45, 2015, p. 19-36

English

This article details the impact of the HPCR Manual on International Law Applicable to Air and Missile Warfare (“AMW Manual”). The author first investigates the dawning of the “age of the manual”. The manual is an increasingly useful means of updating old law, keeping pace with new technology, and, most importantly, providing best-practice guides for front-line users. Manuals also offer helpful interpretive aides in today’s complex network of international law and standards. The author then describes the development of the AMW Manual, and reason for its successes. Regional consultations with stakeholders and input from multiple nations were instrumental to its legitimacy. The third section describes the content of the AMW Manual. The author argues that its language is more purposive than earlier manuals in finalizing rules and describing their development. This includes definitions of air space, Security Council authority in air and missile warfare, and military objectives. Finally, the author argues that the AMW Manual provides a clear articulation of current customary international law on air and missile warfare. It acts as a conduit for pre-existing norms to be disseminated in the field and reinforced, and also distills legal principles into workable rules and propositions. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

• Israel yearbook on human rights / publ. under the auspices of the Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
• Israel yearbook on human rights [Vol. 45, 2015] / publ. under the auspices of the Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University