Future International Laws of War

Undoubtedly the generally recognized rules governing the exertion of military force at any given period are the outcome of social and economic conditions as well as of the development of new modes of attack upon life and property. Yet many believe that new forms of the exertion of military strength may be restrained by international agreement made in time of peace and in the name of humanity. Although such agreements have been made in the past, such as the Hague agreements of 1899 and 1907, not all have been viable. It is doubtful if effective ways of striking down the enemy will be limited by the bare plea of “humanity”. Restraint on the exercise of belligerent force for the sole reason that the sufferings of war are great and cruel is instinctive but not logical, for war is death and injury of persons and destruction of property by which the enemy is forced to submit. As to this matter Oppenheim says in his International Law : ... First is the principle that a belligerent should be justified in applying any amount and any kind of force which is necessary for the realization of the purpose of the war—namely, the overpowering of the opponent. Secondly, the principle of humanity is at work, which says that all such kinds and degrees of violence as are not necessary for the overpowering of the enemy should not be permitted to the belligerent

Adversary · Belligerent · Computer security · Humanity · International law · Law and economics · Law of war · Political science · Politics · Property (philosophy · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Philosophy · War, Ethics, and Justification

• The 1871 London Declaration, Rebus Sic Stantibus and A Primitivist View of the Law of Nations

  Open Access•David J Bederman•American Journal of International…•1988

  Incluir item

• The Legal Nature and Punishment of Criminal Acts of Violence Contrary to the Laws of War

  Open Access•George Manner•American Journal of International…•1943

  Incluir item