Disguising a military object as a civilian object : prohibited perfidy or permissible ruse of war ? / Kevin Jon Heller
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Article
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Disguising a military object as a civilian object : prohibited perfidy or permissible ruse of war ?
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Kevin Jon Heller
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English
Abstract:
A number of scholars have claimed that it is inherently perfidious to kill an enemy soldier by disguising a military object as a civilian object. This essay disagrees, noting that conventional and customary IHL deem at least five military practices that involve making a military object appear to be a civilian object permissible ruses of war, not prohibited acts of perfidy: camouflage, ambush, cover, booby-traps, and landmines. The essay thus argues that attackers are free to disguise a military object as a civilian object as long as the civilian object in question does not receive special protection under international humanitarian law (IHL).
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