International Law And The War On Terror

The acts of lawlessness committed on September 11, 2001 were followed by a 'war on terror'. This book sets out the essential features of the international legal framework against which the '9/11' attacks and the lawfulness of measures taken in response thereto fall to be assessed. It addresses, in an accessible manner, relevant law in relation to: 'terrorism', questions as to 'responsibility' for it, the criminal law framework, lawful constraints on the use of force, the humanitarian law that governs in armed conflict, and international human rights law. It indicates the existence of a legal framework capable of addressing events such as '9/11' and governing responses thereto. The author examines the compatibility of the 'war on terror' with this legal framework, and questions the implications for states responsible for violations, for third states and for the international rule of law.

This book examines the different ways in which the laws governing the use of force and the conduct of warfare have become subject to intense scrutiny and contestation since the initiation of the war on terror. Since the end of the Cold War, the nature of security challenges has changed radically and this change has been recognised by the UN, governments and academics around the world. The 911 attacks and the subsequent launch of the 'war on terror' added a new dimension to this debate on the nature and utility of international law due to the demands from some quarters for a change in the laws governing self-defence and humanitarian intervention. This book analyses the nature of these debates and focuses on key issues that have led to the unprecedented contemporary questioning of both the utility and composition of international law on the use of force as well as the practicability of using force, including handling of ‘prisoners’ and ‘security risks’. It also identifies the sources of division and addresses the capacities of security policy and international law to adapt to the changed international environment. This book will of much interest to students of international law, war and conflict studies, and IR and Security Studies in general.

Ideas in Conflict: International Law and the War on Terror describes the transformation of international law and sovereignty in the post-war world. It imparts the causes and consequences of the rise of non-State actors' importance in international law, with a focus on human rights and terrorism as two examples of this phenomenon. After World War II, international law transformed itself radically: human rights took a central role in the post-war world as the legitimator of States, and as a key objective of the international system as one of the steps to prevent another global war. State sovereignty likewise transformed from an absolute, indivisible, and ultimate power of States into relativized and transferable quanta of State power, which in turn were partially parceled upward to international organizations, downward to sub-State public law actors, and outward to private law actors. Terrorism is one of the latest challenges posed to the international system by non-State actors.

Many years after the United States initiated a military response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the nation continues to prosecute an armed conflict against transnational terrorist groups. Today, it remains just as vital to understand how the law of armed conflict applies to and regulates military operations executed within the scope of this armed conflict against transnational non-state terrorist groups. In The War on Terror and the Laws of War, seven legal scholars, each with experience as military officers, focus on how to strike an effective balance between the necessity of using armed violence to subdue a threat to the nation with the humanitarian interest of mitigating the suffering inevitably associated with that use. Each chapter addresses a specific operational issue, including the national right of self-defense, military targeting and the use of drones, detention, interrogation, and trial by military commission of captured terrorist operatives, while illustrating how the law of armed conflict influences resolution of that issue. This Second Edition carries on the critical mission of continuing the ongoing dialogue about the law from an unabashedly military perspective, bringing practical wisdom to the contentious topic of applying international law to the battlefield. Book jacket.

This book reviews the war on terror since 9/11 from a human rights perspective.

Examines the difficulties in applying international law to recent armed conflicts known as 'new wars'.