laws of war
Rules of engagement
Laws of war are the international rules governing armed conflict—what combatants may and may not do.
They regulate treatment of prisoners, protection of civilians, prohibited weapons, and conduct during occupation.
The Geneva Conventions form the core of modern laws of war.
Violations constitute war crimes: The bombing of hospitals violates the laws of war.
Wartime humanitarian treaties
- Hague ConventionsInternational laws of warfare
- treatiesFormal agreements between states
- protocolsEstablished codes of conduct
- ratificationFormal approval by authority
conventions · ICC · ICRC · codification · signatory · enforcement · jurisdiction · jurisprudence
Scaling relationship between quantities
- distinctionNotable difference or honor
- military necessityWartime justification for action
- humanityPeople as a whole
- precautionPreventive safety measure
discrimination · limitation · chivalry · honor · reciprocity · neutrality · surrender · quarter
Parties waging war
- mercenariesSoldiers paid to fight
- child soldiersUnderage combatants in war
- woundedHaving sustained harm
- sickUnwell or impressively cool
shipwrecked · medics · chaplains · surrender · capture · internment · repatriation · POW camps
Those exempt from warfare
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- displaced personsPeople forced from home
- evacueesPeople removed from danger
- hostagesCaptives held for demands
civilian casualties · collateral damage · humanitarian corridors · population centers · hospitals · schools · residential areas · shielding
Obligation for one's actions
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- tribunalJudicial decision-making body
- court-martialArmed forces judicial proceeding
- NurembergGerman trial city
ICC · immunity · amnesty · reparations · sanctions · investigation · evidence · witness protection
Systematic annihilation of a people
- tortureDeliberate infliction of suffering
- chemical weaponsToxic substances weaponized
- biological weaponsWeaponized pathogens or toxins
- landminesConcealed explosive ordnance
cluster munitions · incendiary weapons · perfidy · assassination · poison · pillage · rape · ethnic cleansing
Geneva Conventions
Wartime humanitarian treaties
- Hague ConventionsInternational laws of warfare
- treatiesFormal agreements between states
- protocolsEstablished codes of conduct
ratification · conventions · ICC · ICRC · codification · signatory · enforcement · jurisdiction · jurisprudence · legal framework
proportionality
Scaling relationship between quantities
- distinctionNotable difference or honor
- military necessityWartime justification for action
- humanityPeople as a whole
precaution · discrimination · limitation · chivalry · honor · reciprocity · neutrality · surrender · quarter · reprisal
belligerents
Parties waging war
- mercenariesSoldiers paid to fight
- child soldiersUnderage combatants in war
- woundedHaving sustained harm
sick · shipwrecked · medics · chaplains · surrender · capture · internment · repatriation · POW camps · armed forces
noncombatants
Those exempt from warfare
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- displaced personsPeople forced from home
- evacueesPeople removed from danger
hostages · civilian casualties · collateral damage · humanitarian corridors · population centers · hospitals · schools · residential areas · shielding · occupation
accountability
Obligation for one's actions
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- tribunalJudicial decision-making body
- court-martialArmed forces judicial proceeding
Nuremberg · ICC · immunity · amnesty · reparations · sanctions · investigation · evidence · witness protection · truth commission
genocide
Systematic annihilation of a people
- tortureDeliberate infliction of suffering
- chemical weaponsToxic substances weaponized
- biological weaponsWeaponized pathogens or toxins
landmines · cluster munitions · incendiary weapons · perfidy · assassination · poison · pillage · rape · ethnic cleansing · forced displacement
laws of warlawlessness
Absence of governing rules
anarchy · law of the jungle · war crimes · impunity · atrocities
laws of warwar crimes
Illegal acts during conflict
atrocities · barbarism · savagery · genocide · ethnic cleansing
law, laws, lawful, lawfully, unlawful, unlawfully, lawless, lawlessness, lawyer