Oslo military manuals seminar 2007.12.10

24.10.2007

National military manuals on the law of armed conflict

An international seminar organized in the series of the Forum for International Criminal Justice and Conflict1 by the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (University of Oslo), the Norwegian Red Cross, the Danish Red Cross, the Finnish Red Cross, the Swedish Red Cross, the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College, the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, and PRIO.

Monday, 10 December 2007 09:00 – 17:00

Henri Dunant Hall, Norwegian Red Cross, Hausmanns gate 7, Oslo

This seminar explores various aspects of national military manuals on the law of armed conflict and some of the challenges concerning their preparation, maintenance and function. As no Nordic state currently has a military manual, the seminar also examines the desirability and feasibility of a joint manual for the armed forces in the region.

The law of armed conflict is a culmination of practice and agreements between warring states meticulously observed and recorded over the centuries. However, it has long proved a major challenge to ensure that the law is known to the armed forces, understood by their members and observed on the ground. Despite its numerous and often highly technical provisions, the law remains notoriously open-textured and indeterminate in key respects. States routinely disagree with one another as to the applicability of certain rules or their interpretation. Many soldiers are left uninstructed on the law due to the indifference, inability or unwillingness of their governments. Factors such as a dearth of competent military lawyers and particular “corporate cultures” prevalent in parts of the armed forces also undermine compliance.

Articles 82-84 and 87 of the First Additional Protocol of 1977 specifically obligate contracting states to provide competent legal advisers, acquaint military and relevant civilian personnel with the law and require commanders to take preventive and/or punitive action vis-à-vis non-compliance by their subordinates. In order to fulfill these obligations, states need to acquire expertise and reference material necessary for a clear, uniform and accurate account of the legal rules – whether they emanate from the law of armed conflict or domestic law, or both as the case may be – that govern military operations. The need is particularly acute for the vast majority of soldiers who are not lawyers themselves and can not reasonably be expected to resolve complex legal problems without specialist assistance.

Military manuals are meant to help the armed forces clarify those rules of warfare by which their states consider themselves bound. Good manuals offer sound operational guidance to the military in the field and reduce indeterminacies of the rules for their addressees.

This seminar focuses on four issue-areas:

? First, what exactly is a national military manual? What does it do? Where within the broad legal, institutional and normative framework of the armed forces – e.g., domestic law including criminal law, military justice, operational doctrine, rules of engagement and battlefield ethics – does a military manual fall? What are the functions and status of military manuals under the law of armed conflict? Are military manuals evidence of state practice and/or opinio juris, or neither?

? Second, what has been the experience of states which maintain national military manuals? For whose benefit do these states maintain such manuals – members of their armed forces, officials of government departments, etc.? How are the intended beneficiaries of military manuals trained on them? Have military manuals been effective in doing what they are intended to do? In what way, if any, have military manuals affected the conduct of those concerned with the application and observance of the law of armed conflict? What role have military manuals played in peace operations? Would a national as opposed to an international approach to military manuals be appropriate in the context of such operations?

? Third, what subject-matters and areas of law should military manuals include or exclude? How should military manuals deal with the fluid realities of warfare, rapid development of the law of armed conflict and controversial weapons and tactics? How should military manuals cope with the numerous points at which the law of armed conflict overlaps with other fields of international law, such as international human rights law and international criminal law? From whose input, expertise and perspectives should good military manuals benefit – military lawyers, non-legal military personnel, civilian specialists, Red Cross experts, etc.?

? Fourth, is a military manual really necessary for a state which does not have one yet? What, if any, is its added value? What are the pros and cons of a state having or not having a military manual for its armed forces? Are there any conditions for a military manual to be legitimate, feasible and/or useful and, if so, what are these conditions? Might there be a ‘Nordic military manual’? The seminar considers these questions by drawing on prominent international experts with extensive experience in the law of armed conflict, military manuals and related fields.

1 A debate forum open to individuals interested in issues concerning international criminal justice and conflict, started as an informal initiative under the ENI Programme of PRIO (by its Senior Researcher Morten Bergsmo, in consultation with Dr. Jo Stigen, Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo). The Forum aims to identify and facilitate debate on key issues in international criminal justice and conflict, including accountability-related measures other than criminal justice, and to bring together practitioners, government officials, NGO representatives, academics, students and others with an interest in this emerging field of practice and research. Information about the Forum can be found at www.prio.no/ficjc/.

Registration:

To register, please send an e-mail message before 10 November 2007 to ficjc@prio.no (with ‘Seminar 071210’ in the subject field), indicating your wish to register as a Seminar participant. Remember to mention your name, functional title (for example, ‘student’ or ‘Legal Adviser (MFA)’) and e-mail address.

Accommodation:

The Norwegian Red Cross can offer special hotel rates for registered Seminar participants. If interested, please contact Mr. Mads Harlem at mads.harlem@redcross.no.

Programme:

09:00 Welcome, Trygve G. Nordby (Secretary-General, Norwegian Red Cross).

09:05 Opening remarks, by Gro Nystuen (Associate Professor, University of Oslo)

Session I: Fundamentals of military manuals

09:10 Remarks by session moderator, Arne Willy Dahl (Judge Advocate General, Norway).

09:15 Military manuals, operational law and the regulatory framework of the armed forces, by Charles Garraway (Associate Fellow, Chatham House; Visiting Professor, King’s College, London).

09:35 Military manuals, legal advisors and the First Additional Protocol of 1977, by Hans-Peter Gasser (Senior Legal Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross, ret.).

09:55 Military manuals and the customary law of armed conflict, by David Turns (Senior Lecturer, Laws of Armed Conflict, UK Defence Academy).

10:15 Discussion

10:40 Coffee break

Session II: Experiences with military manuals

11:00 Remarks by session moderator, by Peter Otken (Judge Advocate, Denmark).

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