The Law Of Land Warfare

The Rules That Govern The Conduct Of Soldiers In Military

Operations

Law of Land Warfare

 Training Objectives
• Understand the “Need” for the LOW.

• Understand the legal bases for the LOW.

• Identify the LOW Basic Principles.

Military Necessity.

Unnecessary Suffering/Collateral Damage.

Discrimination or Distinction.

Proportionality.

• Apply the Ten LOW Standards – The Soldier’s Rules.

Law of Land Warfare

 Terminal Learning Objective
Action:Identify the key elements of the Hague
and Geneva Conventions that pertain to small
unit combat operations. Identify actions to
prevent violation of the Law of Land Warfare.

Conditions: Given instruction, student handout

in a classroom environment. Given information
on the Hague and Geneva Convention and
customary Law of Land Warfare.

Standards:Correctly identify the key elements of

the Hague and Geneva Conventions and how to
prevent violation of the Law of Land Warfare on a
written exam and score minimum of 70% on the
exam. Law of Land Warfare
 Administrative Data
• Safety None

•Risk Low

•Environmental None

•Evaluation On the Military Justice Exam, must attain a

70% Law of Land Warfare
 Enabling Learning Objective A
• ACTION: Understand the Laws of War

•CONDITIONS: In a classroom
•STANDARDS: Be familiar with the following

1. The principles, spirit, and intent of the Hague and Geneva

Conventions.

2. The Law of Land Warfare prohibiting unnecessary destruction.

3. The Law of Land Warfare requiring humane treatment of

prisoners of war (POWs), other captured and detained personnel, and
civilians.

4. The obligation not to commit war crimes.

5. The obligation to report all violators of the Law of Land Warfare.

6. The significant provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to

the treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs). Law of Land Warfare
 What Is The LOW?
Law of Land Warfare Legal Bases:
• Hague Regulations.

• Geneva Conventions.

• Other International Treaty Law.

• International Customary Law of Land

Warfare.

Reflection of international legal

values.

Law of Land Warfare

 Why Do We Need The LOW?
• To assist Commanders and Soldiers in
mission accomplishment.

• To regulate the use of force and

prohibit unlawful conduct.

• To protect against unnecessary

suffering and excessive collateral
damage.

• To promote the humane treatment of

noncombatants, wounded and sick,
and civilians.

Law of Land Warfare

 Why Do You Need To Follow The
LOW?
Adherence promotes:
• A disciplined, more effective fighting force.
• Support for U.S. operations both at home and abroad.
• An early end to hostilities.
• Reciprocal adherence to LOW by the enemy.
It’s the Right thing to do:
• Moral Courage and Self Discipline are the hallmarks of a
professional warrior.
It’s the Law:
• Violations can create an international incident.
• War crimes are serious charges.
• War crimes embarrass the United States & limit policy options.

Law of Land Warfare

 LOW – The Basic Principles

• Military Necessity

• Unnecessary Suffering/Collateral Damage

• Discrimination or Distinction

• Proportionality

Law of Land Warfare

 Military Necessity
Target Analysis
Military Necessity refers to the
use of force, not otherwise
prohibited by the Law of Land
Warfare, which is necessary for
the complete submission of the
enemy as soon as possible.

Law of Land Warfare

 Military Necessity
• The Rule: Destructive force must be directed at
LEGITIMATE MILITARY TARGETS.
• Unavoidable destruction of non-military persons and
property in the course of destroying a legitimate military
target is “collateral damage” and is normally not a Law of
Land Warfare violation.
• The targeting of a military target that results in excessive
collateral damage is unlawful.
• Military necessity is NOT a defense for acts expressly
prohibited by international law.

Law of Land Warfare

 Unnecessary Suffering
The Rule:

• It is forbidden for Soldiers to use arms, projectiles, or material

CALCULATED to cause UNNECESSARY SUFFERING.

The rule applies to both of the following:

• Combatants: prohibits weapons which cause unnecessary

suffering (i.e. fragmenting bullets) and the use of lawful weapons
in a manner designed to cause unnecessary suffering.

• Civilians and civilian property: prohibits intentional attack on

civilians, civilian property, or collateral damage excessive in
relation to the reasonably expected military advantage.

Law of Land Warfare

 Discrimination Or Distinction
Discrimination: Soldiers must distinguish:
• Combatants from non-combatants.
• Military objectives from protected
property or protected places.

Distinction: Soldiers must adhere to the

customary international law obligation to
engage only in military operations where:
• The effects distinguish between the
civilian population/objects and
combatants/military objectives.
• Force is solely directed against
combatants/military objectives.

Law of Land Warfare

 Proportionality
• Loss of civilian life and damage to
civilian property (collateral damage)
must not be excessive in relation to the
concrete and direct military advantage
gained by an attack.

• Proportionality is not a separate legal

standard.

• It is a method for commanders to

assess their obligations as to the Law
of Land Warfare principle of distinction,
while avoiding actions that are
indiscriminate.

Law of Land Warfare

 Ten LOW Standards
The Soldier’s Rules
• Fight only combatants.
• Treat humanely all who surrender
or are captured.
• Do not kill or torture detained
personnel. • Destroy no more than the
• Collect and care for the wounded. mission requires.
• Do not attack protected persons • Treat all civilians humanely.
and protected places. • Respect private property and
possessions.
• Prevent LOW violations.
• Report LOW violations.

Law of Land Warfare

Rule #1: Fight Only Combatants

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #1: Fight Only Combatants
“Combatant”: Anyone engaging in hostilities in
armed conflict on behalf of a party to the
conflict. May be:
• Persons “declared” hostile.
• Persons engaged in a Hostile Act or
Demonstrating Hostile Intent.

Inherent Right of Self Defense (ROE Principle)

• Anyone engaged in a hostile act.
• Anyone demonstrating a hostile intent.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #2: Treat Humanely All Who
Surrender Or Are Captured
• Follow the 5 S’s and T.
• Provide Humane Treatment.
• Respect and Protect.

Law of Land Warfare

Rule #2: Treat Humanely All Who
Surrender Or Are Captured
The 5 S’s and T:
• Search
Disarm
• Segregate
By military rank
Civilians from Military
Military from Militia
• Silence
• Speed
Turnover to proper
holding facility for
processing
• Safeguard
Protect from further harm
• Tag

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #2: Treat Humanely All Who
Surrender Or Are Captured
Provide Humane Treatment:
• Medical Treatment.
• Food.
• Water.
• Shelter.
• Basic Hygiene Care.
• Clothing.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #2: Treat Humanely All Who
Surrender Or Are Captured

Respect and Protect:

• Protect from retaliation or retribution.
• Protect from public humiliation or curiosity.
• Respect for person, honor, cultural beliefs.

International and domestic law applies to federal employees and

contractors:
• DOD civilian employees and contractor personnel.
• Non-DOD civilian employees and contractor personnel
engaged in the handling or interrogation of detainees.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #2: Treat Humanely All Who
Surrender Or Are Captured
Women will be treated with
respect:
• Protected from sexual
assault.
• Women are entitled to
respect for their persons
and their honor.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #3: Do Not Kill Or Torture
Detained Personnel
• Killing & Torturing detained personnel
is a crime under both international and
domestic law.

• Humane treatment is the minimum

standard for ALL detained personnel
regardless of status.

• Let trained interrogators conduct

interrogations -- Torture is not only
unlawful, but produces unreliable
information.

Law of Land Warfare

Rule #4: Collect And Care For The
Wounded
The LOW requires you to care
for enemy wounded.

• Once they are out of the

fight, take care of them.

• Triage the most seriously

wounded -- whether
friendly or enemy.

• Safeguard from further

attack.

Law of Land Warfare

Rule #4 – Collect And Care For The
Wounded
'Mercy Killer' GI Gets Three Years

BAGHDAD, Dec. 11, 2004

(CBS/AP)

- A U.S. Soldier was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to
killing a severely wounded Iraqi teenager
- The Soldier also received a reduction in rank to private, forfeiture of wages
and a dishonorable discharge.

- He pleaded guilty to one count of unpremeditated murder and one count of

soliciting another Soldier to commit unpremeditated murder.

- The charges relate to the Aug. 18 killing of a 16-year-old Iraqi male found in
a burning truck with severe abdominal wounds sustained during clashes in
Baghdad's Sadr City, an impoverished neighborhood that was the scene of
fierce fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite rebels loyal to anti-U.S. cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr.
Law of Land Warfare
 Rule #4: Collect And Care For The
Wounded
• The Obligation to collect & protect the wounded extends to the
dead.
• Mutilation or desecration of dead bodies is a violation of the LOW.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #5: Do Not Attack Protected
Persons And Protected Places
Protected Persons.
• Intentional targeting generally prohibited.
Protected Places.
• Civilian objects protected from intentional
attack.
• Military purpose/military necessity
analysis.
• Incomplete intelligence & civilian
casualties.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #5 Do Not Attack Medical
Personnel, Facilities, Or
Equipment

Do not attack people, vehicles, or places marked with these symbols.

Hospitals don’t lose protected status if fortified strictly for defense:
• OK for hospital to have armed sentries, Doc’s to have side-arms.
• Not OK to co-locate hospital with SAM site, or to hide large weapons
supplies there.
• Hospitals, medics, or medical vehicles CAN lose their status if they
are used improperly. Law of Land Warfare
 Rule #6: Destroy No More Than
The Mission Requires
Only target legitimate military
objectives.
• Avoid excessive or wanton
destruction of property.
Minimize collateral damage.
• Protect civilian property.
• Protect historic and cultural sites.
• Remember: During OIF, our focus
was the Iraqi regime, not the
people. The more you destroy in
battle, the more we’ll have to help
rebuild in peace.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #7: Treat All Civilians
Humanely
ALL Civilians must be respected.
• Never intentionally target civilians.
Civilians must abstain from Hostile
Acts.
• You don’t have to stop your mission to
care for them.
• But: DO help civilians if safe to do so & it
doesn’t interfere with your mission.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #7: Treat All Civilians
Humanely
• No adverse distinction based on race,
religion, sex, etc.
• No violence to life or person.
• No hostage taking.
• No degrading treatment.
• Must care for the wounded and sick.

Law of Land Warfare

Rule #8: Respect Private Property
And Possessions
Civilian Property:
• Do not retain unless it is
contraband.
• The taking of personal property for
immediate military necessity or
emergency is permissible. Issue a
receipt for property taken, when
possible.

War trophies:
• Do not retain without express
authorization from your
Commander.

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #8:
Soldiers Do Not Steal!
Soldier who helped commandeer sheik's SUV convicted of armed
robbery in court-martial
By Kimberly Hefling
ASSOCIATED PRESS
2:11 p.m. July 29, 2004

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – A military jury found a Soldier guilty of armed robbery Thursday
for taking an Iraqi sheik's sport utility vehicle at gunpoint.
• He faces up to 15 years in prison.
• The Soldier maintains he helped take the SUV only because his lieutenant ordered him
to procure a vehicle and because he did not think it was a criminal act.
• "In his mind there was nothing wrong with doing it," Bernard Casey, Williams' civilian
defense attorney, said in closing arguments Thursday.
• Army prosecutor Capt. Howard Hoege said Thursday that Williams helped take the SUV
at gunpoint from the sheik's son, who was driving the vehicle.
• Williams then helped orchestrate a cover-up story that the vehicle was found abandoned,
Hoege said.
Law of Land Warfare
 Rule #9: Prevent LOW Violations

General Dwight D. Eisenhower (center),
Supreme Allied Commander, views the
corpses of inmates who perished at the
Ohrdruf camp. Ohrdruf, Germany, April 12,
1945. (National Archives)
“I was only following orders” and “ambiguous
orders” are not defenses to war crimes: Mai Lai
Village, Vietnam, March 1968, Civilian women,
children and infants “suspected” of aiding the NVA
enemy were killed by U.S. ground forces

“All that is necessary for the triumph of Evil is for good men to do nothing”

Law of Land Warfare

 Rule #10: Report LOW Violations

• Report ALL suspected LOW violations (enemy or friendly) to your

chain of command, judge advocate, inspector general, or chaplain.
• It is your duty to know the LOW and follow the rules.
• If you are ordered to commit a criminal act or LOW violation, you are
under an obligation to refuse the order.
• “I was just following orders” is NOT a defense.

Law of Land Warfare

 Check on Learning
• QUESTION: What are the 4 legal bases of the
Law of Land Warfare?

• ANSWER: Hague Regulations, Geneva

Conventions, Other International Treaty Law,
and International Customary Law of Land
Warfare

Law of Land Warfare

 Check on Learning
• QUESTION: What are the basic principles of the
Law of Land Warfare?

• ANSWER: Military Necessity, Unnecessary

Suffering/Collateral Damage, Discrimination or
Distinction, Proportionality

Law of Land Warfare

 Check on Learning
• QUESTION: What are the 10 Law of Land
Warfare Standards "The Soldier's Rules"?
• ANSWER:
• 1. Fight only combatants.
• 2. Treat humanely all who surrender or are
captured.
• 3. Do not kill or torture detained personnel.
• 4. Collect and care for the wounded.
• 5. Do not attack protected persons and
protected places.
Law of Land Warfare
 Check on Learning
• 6. Destroy no more than the mission requires.
• 7. Treat all civilians humanely.
• 8. Respect private property and possessions.
• 9. Prevent LOW violations.
• 10. Report LOW violations.

Law of Land Warfare

 Summary
• Understand & Obey the LOW.

It’s your duty & It’s the law.

• Target based on Military Necessity.

• Avoid Causing Unnecessary Suffering.

• Minimize Collateral Damage.

• Discriminate/Distinguish Targets & Objectives.

• Use Proportional Force.

• Follow The Soldier’s Rules.

Law of Land Warfare

Questions

Law of Land Warfare