A detailed and highly authoritative critical commentary appraising the vitally important United States Department of Defense Law of War Manual.

The United States Department of Defense Law of War Manual: Commentary and Critique provides an irreplaceable resource for any politician, international expert, or military practitioner who wishes to understand the approach taken by the American military in the complex range of modern conflicts. Readers will understand the strengths and weaknesses of US legal and policy pronouncements and the reasons behind the modern American way of war, whether US forces deploy alone or in coalitions. This book provides unprecedented and precise analysis of the US approach to the most pressing problems in modern wars, including controversies surrounding use of human shields, fighting in urban areas, the use of cyberwar and modern weaponry, expanding understanding of human rights, and the rise of ISIS. This group of authors, including academics and military practitioners, provides a wealth of expertise that demystifies overlapping threads of law and policy amidst the world's seemingly intractable conflicts.

The Department of Defense Law of War Manual belongs on the shelf of every researcher, journalist, lawyer, historian, and individual interested in foreign affairs, international law, human rights, or national security. The Manual provides a comprehensive, authoritative interpretation of the law of war for the U.S. Department of Defense.

This publication, Field Manual FM 6-27 MCTP 11-10C The Commander's Handbook on the Law of Land Warfare August 2019, provides guidance to Soldiers and Marines on the doctrine and practice related to customary and treaty law applicable to the conduct of warfare on land and to relationships between opposing belligerents, in order to train and prepare for combat operations. Although some of the legal principles set forth herein also apply to warfare at sea and in the air, this publication otherwise concerns itself with the rules peculiar to naval and aerial warfare only to the extent that such rules have some direct bearing on the activities of Soldiers and Marines operating on land.Commanders, staffs, and subordinates must ensure that their decisions and actions comply with applicable U.S., international, and in some cases host-nation laws and regulations. Commanders at all levels will ensure that their Soldiers or Marines operate in accordance with the law of armed conflict (LOAC) and applicable rules of engagement. This is an official publication of the U.S. Army and a referenced publication for the U.S. Marine Corps. The principal audience for this publication is Army and Marine Corps commanders as well as Army and Marine Corps judge advocates. Commanders and staffs of Army and Marine Corps headquarters serving as joint task force or multinational headquarters should also refer to applicable joint or multinational doctrine. Trainers and educators throughout the Army and Marine Corps will also use this publication where appropriate. This publication often describes legal concepts in general terms for non-lawyers rather than exhaustively.

This open access book provides a valuable restatement of the current law of armed conflict regarding hostilities in a diverse range of contexts: outer space, cyber operations, remote and autonomous weapons, undersea systems and devices, submarine cables, civilians participating in unmanned operations, military objectives by nature, civilian airliners, destruction of property, surrender, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, cultural property, the natural environment, and more. The book was prepared by a group of experts after consultation with a number of key governments. It is intended to offer guidance for practitioners (mainly commanding officers); facilitate training at military colleges; and inform both instructors and graduate students of international law on the current state of the law.

The First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions ("AP I") is central to the modern law of war, widely referred to as international humanitarian law outside the United States. It updates the Geneva Conventions for protection of war victims and combines them with new or updated rules governing hostilities and the use of weapons found in the Hague Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of War. Due to its comprehensive nature and adoption by a majority of States, AP I is frequently cited as the source for law of war rules by attorneys and others interested in protecting humanitarian interests. The challenge for United States attorneys, however, is that their country is not a party to AP I and has been a persistent objector to many of its new rules.While the United States signed the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions in 1977, it determined, after 10 years of analysis, that it would not ratify the protocol. President Reagan called AP I "fundamentally and irreconcilably flawed."1 Yet, as will be detailed throughout this guide, United States officials have declared that aspects of AP I are customary international law. Forty years after signing AP I, and 30 years after rejecting it, the United States has never presented a comprehensive, systematic, official position on the protocol. Officials from the United States Departments of Defense and State have taken positions on particular portions of it. This guide attempts to bring those sources together in one location.