The Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of International Armed Conflict (3^rd Ed.)

Written by the leading commentator on the subject, this is the seminal textbook on the law of international armed conflict. Focusing on recent issues arising in the course of hostilities between States, it explores the dividing line between lawful and unlawful combatants, the meaning of war crimes and command responsibility, the range of prohibited weapons, the distinction between combatants and civilians, the parameters of targeting and proportionality, the loss of protection from attack (including 'direct participation in hostilities') and special protection (granted, pre-eminently, to the environment and to cultural property). In a completely revised and updated text, the author expertly covers the key principles and includes important new issues, including the use of autonomous weapons and the complexities of urban warfare. The subtleties and nuances of the international law of armed conflict are made accessible to the student and practitioner alike, whilst retaining the academic rigour of previous editions.

1. The general framework; 2. Lawful combatancy; 3. Prohibited weapons; 4. Lawful targets of attack; 5. Protection from attack of civilians and civilian objects; 6. Measures of special protection from attack; 7. Protection of the environment; 8. Specific methods of warfare; 9. War crimes, orders, command responsibility and defences; General conclusions.

Yoram Dinstein is Professor Emeritus at Tel-Aviv University. He is a former President of the University (1991–98), as well as former Rector and former Dean of the Faculty of Law. He served twice as the Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Law at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He was also a Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of International Law in Heidelberg, Germany, a Meltzer Visiting Professor of Law at New York University and a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Toronto. He is a Member of the Institute of International Law.