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Concept
Law of war
Summary
The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (jus ad bellum) and the conduct of warring parties (jus in bello). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, occupation, and other critical terms of law.
Among other issues, modern laws of war address the declarations of war, acceptance of surrender and the treatment of prisoners of war; military necessity, along with distinction and proportionality; and the prohibition of certain weapons that may cause unnecessary suffering.
The law of war is considered distinct from other bodies of law—such as the domestic law of a particular belligerent to a conflict—which may provide additional legal limits to the conduct or justification of war.
The first traces of a law of war come from the Babylonians. It is the Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon, which in 1750 B.C., explains its laws imposing a code of conduct in the event of war: I prescribe these laws so that the strong do not oppress the weak. In ancient India, the Mahabharata and the texts of Manou's law urged mercy on unarmed or wounded enemies. The Bible and the Qur'an also contain rules of respect for the adversary. It is always a matter of establishing rules that protect civilians and the defeated.
Attempts to define and regulate the conduct of individuals, nations, and other agents in war and to mitigate the worst effects of war have a long history. The earliest known instances are found in the Mahabharata and the Old Testament (Torah).
In the Indian subcontinent, the Mahabharata describes a discussion between ruling brothers concerning what constitutes acceptable behavior on a battlefield, an early example of the rule of proportionality:
One should not attack chariots with cavalry; chariot warriors should attack chariots. One should not assail someone in distress, neither to scare him nor to defeat him ... War should be waged for the sake of conquest; one should not be enraged toward an enemy who is not trying to kill him.
Official source
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