Proportionality in International Humanitarian Law

Consequences, Precautions, and Procedures

Amichai Cohen, David Zlotogorski (Autoren)

Buch | Hardcover

282 Seiten

2021
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-755672-6 (ISBN)

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The principle of proportionality is one of the corner-stones of international humanitarian law. Almost all states involved in armed conflicts recognize that launching an attack which may cause incidental harm to civilians that exceeds the direct military advantage anticipated from the attack is prohibited. This prohibition is included in military manuals, taught in professional courses, and accepted as almost axiomatic. And yet, the exact meaning of the principle is vague. Almost every issue, from the most elementary question of how to compare civilian harm and military advantage, to the obligation to employ accurate but expensive weapons, is disputed. Controversy is especially rife regarding asymmetrical conflicts, in which many modern democracies are involved. How exactly should proportionality be implemented when the enemy is not an army, but a non-state-actor embedded within a civilian population? What does it mean to use precautions in attack, when almost every attack is directed at objects that are used for both military and civilian purposes?

In Proportionality in International Humanitarian Law, Amichai Cohen and David Zlotogorski discuss the philosophical and political background of the principle of proportionality. Offering a fresh and comprehensive look at this key doctrine, they comprehensively discuss the different components of the proportionality “equation” - the meaning of “incidental harm” to civilians; the “military advantage” and the term “excessive”. The book proposes the debates over the principle of proportionality be reframed to focus on the precautions taken before the attack along with the course States should follow in investigations of the violations of the principle.

Amichai Cohen is a Professor of International Law at the Ono Academic College, Israel, and a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, where he is the director of the Center on Democracy and National Security. His main areas of research are International Humanitarian Law, and Israel's National Security Law. David Zlotogorski, LL.M. in Human Rights Law as an Emile Zola fellow in the "Takannah" program in the College of Management, Israel.

Preface

PART I: GENERAL CONCEPTS
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Proportionality
Chapter 2: Ethical and Constitutional Foundations
Chapter 3: A General Overview of Proportionality in IHL

PART II: THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF PROPORTIONALITY
Chapter 4: Military Advantage
Chapter 5: Incidental Harms
Chapter 6: Soldiers vs. Civilians
Chapter 7: Strategic and Cultural Considerations
Chapter 8: Direct Participation in Hostilities and its Effect on Proportionality
Chapter 9: Human Shields and Proportionality
Chapter 10: The Principle of Distinction and its Relation to Proportionality

PART III: UNDERSTANDING PROPORTIONALITY
Chapter 11: The Vagueness of Proportionality
Chapter 12: Procedural Aspects of Proportionality
Chapter 13: Judicial Review and Investigations
Chapter 14: The Future of Proportionality

Conclusion

Erscheinungsdatum	15.01.2021
Reihe/Serie	The Lieber Studies Series
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	163 x 236 mm
Gewicht	590 g
Themenwelt	Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
Themenwelt	Recht / Steuern ► Öffentliches Recht ► Völkerrecht
ISBN-10	0-19-755672-8 / 0197556728
ISBN-13	978-0-19-755672-6 / 9780197556726
Zustand	Neuware