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Law of land warfare
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The '''Law of Land Warfare''' is that part of the
Laws of war Laws of War applicable to the conduct of
warfare on
territory land and to
relationships between
belligerents and
Neutral country neutral states. This article, derived from public domain government sources, generally describes the
law as
internationally understood.
Purposes of the Law of War
The conduct of
armed hostilities on land is regulated by the law of land warfare which is both written and unwritten. It is inspired by the desire to diminish the
evils of war by:
*Protecting both
combatants and
noncombatants from unnecessary suffering;
*Safeguarding certain fundamental
human rights of persons who fall into the hands of the
enemy, particularly
prisoners of war, the wounded and sick, and
civilians; and
*Facilitating the restoration of
peace.
Basic principles
Prohibitory effect
The law of war places limits on the exercise of a belligerent’s power mentioned under ''Purposes'' and requires that belligerents refrain from employing any kind or degree of
violence which is not actually necessary for military purposes and that they conduct
hostilities with regard for the principles of
humanity and
chivalry.
Binding on States and Individuals
The law of war is binding not only upon States as such but also upon individuals and, in particular, the members of their
armed forces.
Sources of the law
The law of war is derived from two principal sources:
* ''Lawmaking
treaty Treaties'' (or ''
convention#rule Conventions''), such as the
Hague Convention Hague and
Geneva Conventions.
* ''Custom''. Although some of the law of war has not been incorporated in any treaty or convention to which the United States is a party, this body of unwritten or customary law is firmly established by the custom of nations and well defined by recognized authorities on
international law.
Lawmaking treaties may be compared with
legislation legislative enactments in the national law of the United States and the
convention (norm) customary law of
war with the unwritten Anglo-American
common law.
External articles and references
-
U.S. Army's Field Manual 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare
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Category:Laws of war Land warfare
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