3000.194 29-05-2015 11:53 Pagina 1 3000.194 Conduct of Hostilities: International Institute of Humanitarian Law the Practice, the Law and the Future The 37th Round Table on current problems of International Humanitarian Law International Institute of Humanitarian Law th International Institute of Humanitarian Law Institut International de Droit Humanitaire (IHL), recalling the 150 anniversary of the adoption of the first multilateral Istituto Internazionale di Diritto Umanitario convention on IHL, namely, the “Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field”, focussed on the new and increasing challenges of the application of the law governing the conduct of hostilities in light of the changing nature of conflicts, the means of combat and the actors involved. It gave military practitioners and international experts from different regions of Conduct of Hostilities: the world and with different backgrounds the opportunity to examine the law and the practice governing the conduct of hostilities as applicable to current/ongoing armed conflicts, with a particular focus on the future and the the Practice, challenges posed by new technologies. Recent developments in warfare such as cyber warfare or the growing use of the Law and the Future autonomous weapons in combat situations, elicit debates not only in relation to the current application of IHL, but also to possible future developments and scenarios. Such debates are essential to ensure that international norms and standards are rigorously respected in future conflicts. The International Institute of Humanitarian Law is an independent, non-profit humanitarian organization founded in 1970. Its headquarters are situated in Villa THE PRACTICE, THE LAW AND THE FUTURE THE PRACTICE, LAW Ormond, Sanremo (Italy). Its main objective is the promotion and dissemination of CONDUCT OF HOSTILITIES: International Humanitarian Law, human rights, refugee law and migration law. Thanks to its longstanding experience and its internationally acknowledged academic standards, the International Institute of Humanitarian Law is considered to be a centre of excellence and has developed close co-operation with the most important international organizations. STUDI FrancoAngeli Politica La passione per le conoscenze € 31,00 (u) FrancoAngeli 871.26 4-09-2012 16:59 Pagina 2 International Institute of Humanitarian Law Institut International de Droit Humanitaire Istituto Internazionale di Diritto Umanitario Conduct of Hostilities: the Practice, the Law and the Future 37th Round Table on Current Issues of International Humanitarian Law (Sanremo, 4th-6th September 2014) Editor Edoardo Greppi Associated Editor Gian Luca Beruto FrancoAngeli Prof. Edoardo Greppi is Professor of International Law at the University of Torino (Italy). He’s Vice President of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law and Secretary-General of the Italian Society of International Law (SIDI). Mr. Gian Luca Beruto holds a Master’s degree in International Political Science and is currently Assistant to the Secretary-General of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law. The International Institute of Humanitarian Law would like to thank Ms Shirley Morren, librarian of the Institute, Ms Cristina Sánchez de la Cruz and Ms Lodovica Battistella, interns at the Institute, who were involved in the painstaking task of proof reading. Copyright © 2015 by International Institute of Humanitarian Law. Stampa: Geca Industrie Grafiche, Via Monferrato 54, 20098 San Giuliano Milanese. Table of Contents Preface Fausto Pocar p. 11 Opening session Opening remarks Fausto Pocar » 15 Welcome address Alberto Biancheri » 19 Keynote address Benedetto Della Vedova » 20 Keynote address Massimo Barra » 24 Keynote address Helen Durham » 27 I. Setting the scene The importance of the law in theatre Lone Kjelgaard » 35 L’évolution du droit international humanitaire applicable à la conduite des hostilités Djamchid Momtaz » 43 5 II. Operational planning and targeting decision processes Planning and decision-making: differences in processes for pre-planned targets, targets of opportunity and troops in contact situations. National perspectives Richard C. “Rich” Gross p. 55 Training and political guidance as a comprehensive approach towards improving operational decisions and RoE? Cynthia Petrigh » 60 Operational planning and decision-making process. The challenges of interoperability: NATO-type operations and operations in partnership with local forces Ben F. Klappe » 64 Taking decisions in hostilities situations. Best training practices Jamie A. Williamson » 71 III. The notion of military objectives Current challenges with regard to the notion of military objective – legal and operational perspectives Noam Lubell » 79 Military objectives and lethal autonomous weapon systems Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer » 86 IV. Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks Come valutare la proporzionalità Gian Marco Chiarini » 95 The use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks Laurent Gisel » 100 6 V. Precautions in attacks The obligation to give effective warnings: lessons learned from recent conflicts Pnina Sharvit Baruch p. 115 Precautions with regard to indirect fire in populated areas Omari Begoidze » 121 Precautions in attacks and remotely controlled weapon systems Gabriella Venturini » 124 Standard of ‘zero expectation’ of civilian casualties and its implementation in practice Christopher Penny » 130 VI. Capture or kill? Does a least harmful means rule govern the use of force under IHL? Ryan Goodman » 137 Capture rather than kill in armed conflict as a matter of policy: when, why and how? Darren Stewart » 143 Can human rights requirements limit the right to use force against legitimate targets under IHL? Françoise Hampson » 149 VII. Precautions against the effects of attacks The feasibility to take precautions against the effects of attacks in urban warfare Juan Carlos Gómez Ramírez » 157 When locating military objectives within populated areas becomes using human shields Robin Geiss » 162 7 VIII. Conduct of hostilities in non-international armed conflicts: specific challenges Challenges faced by non-state armed groups as regards the respect of the law governing the conduct of hostilities Marco Sassòli p. 171 IX. Conduct of hostilities: specificities in various domains Naval Warfare Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg » 179 Guerre Aérienne: le cas du conflit colombien Arnaud Penent d’Izarn » 186 X. Developments in warfare: autonomous weapons Key trends of international law relating to the conflicts in cyberspace Anatoly Streltsov » 191 Technological developments: where do we stand? What might the future look like? Paul Scharre » 200 Automated and autonomous weapons: what military utility in which operational scenario? William Boothby » 205 Autonomous weapons: requirement of human judgement in targeting decision-making. Legal aspects Kathleen Lawand » 211 Ethical and societal perspectives on the development of autonomous weapons Peter Asaro » 218 8 Closing remarks Fausto Pocar p. 223 Closing remarks Helen Durham » 225 Acronyms » 229 Acknowledgements » 233 9 Preface The 22nd August 2014 marked the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the first multilateral convention on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. One hundred and fifty years later, the application of IHL rules on the conduct of hostilities are confronted with new and increasing challenges in light of the changing nature of armed conflicts, the means of combat and the actors involved. The XXXVII Round Table on current issues of International Humanitarian Law, jointly organised with the International Committee of the Red Cross, as is the well-established tradition which the Institute is proud to maintain, offered military practitioners and IHL experts, from different regions of the world and with different backgrounds, the opportunity to examine the law and the practice governing the conduct of hostilities in current armed conflicts. The changing nature of conflicts, with the acute proliferation of non- international armed conflicts and the conduct of operations within densely- populated areas, calls for a rigorous application and enforcement of the pre- existent norms, as well as for the need to analyse and address their application to new situations that continue to arise. Conflicts such as the one unfolding in Syria or the recent situation in Gaza exemplify the growing difficulties encountered by a strict respect for and observance of the principle of distinction between combatants and civilians and between civilian and military objects, as well as a frequently too loose assessment of proportionality, and an increasing disregard of principles of humanity. The consequence is an increasing exposure of civilian populations to suffering caused by armed conflicts. Current developments in warfare, such as cyber warfare or the growing use of autonomous weapons in combat situations, elicit debates not only in relation to the current application of International Humanitarian Law, but also to possible future developments and scenarios. Such debates are essential to ensure that international norms and standards are rigorously respected and observed in armed conflicts. The Round Table presented a multinational and interdisciplinary scenario where the most burning issues and challenges were extensively discussed. With the publication