scholarly journals Legislative Restrictions on Participation in Armed Conflicts in Latvia

Author(s):  
Vitolds Zahars ◽  
Vita Upeniece

Regulation of the Republic of Latvia ensures limitation of both illegal participation in armed conflicts and gaining unwanted military experience. The article analyses norms of the Criminal Law and the National Security Law which restrict the service in the armed forces of other countries and participation in the armed conflicts. These norms have been studied in connection with the norms of the Citizenship Law and the Law On Participation of Latvian National Armed Forces in International Operations. The purpose of the article is to propose the possible solutions to the identified problems, by analysing the stated regulation, in order to reduce the possible unintentional violation of the regulation by individuals. The historical, analytical, systemic and teleological methods have been used in the preparation of the article. Keywords: participation in the armed conflict, military service, Latvian citizenship, non-citizen.

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (27) ◽  
pp. 61-72
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Świderski

The detachments of Territorial Defence Force (TDF, Polish: Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej) are an important element in the new structure of the Polish Army. The article presents the challenges the Territorial Defence Force, a new branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, are currently facing. The author discusses the origin of TDF as well as the basic normative and legal documents that specify the role and tasks of TDF in the national security system. The principles of recruitment to TDF, the basic criteria laid down for candidates for service and a timeline of TDF development in 2016–2019 are described. Particular attention is paid to the cooperation between TDF and operational forces in case of an armed conflict, which poses a serious challenge to the new type of armed forces. Additionally, research suggests that the range of tasks assigned to TDF indicates their significant role within the crisis management system. This requires the TDF command to work closely with public administration and to gain trust and esteem in local communities in the regions of their operation.


2018 ◽  
pp. 109-124
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Ford

The U.S. military Standing Rules of Engagement (SROE) restrict the use of force in armed conflict to either self-defense or “mission-specific” rules of engagement, which refer to the use of force against members of enemy armed forces or organized armed groups that have been “declared hostile.” This bifurcation of authority works well in an international armed conflict, where the enemy force is uniformed and easily distinguished. In these circumstances, the overwhelming number of engagements are against identified hostile forces. In many non-international armed conflicts, however, combatants actively attempt to camouflage their status, and U.S. forces find themselves engaging enemy forces under a self-defense framework. This creates problems. Consider, for example, a situation where three individuals of unknown affiliation launch an attack against a U.S. military convoy in Afghanistan. After a short engagement, the attackers get in a van and speed away from the attack site. The U.S. convoy is disabled, but an unmanned aerial vehicle tracks the van as it retreats into the desert. Thirty minutes later an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter arrives on scene above the still-retreating van. Can the Apache attack the vehicle? The van is retreating and poses no threat, thus self-defense principles would not allow for the use of force, despite the fact that the occupants are clearly directly participating in hostilities. This chapter addresses three questions: Why are the SROE drafted in this manner? What is the basis in the law for the SROE’s approach to self-defense? What are the problems presented by this approach?


Author(s):  
Ian Park

The introduction sets out the broad questions to be addressed, namely: do states have right to life obligations during armed conflict; if so, what are these obligations; when do they apply, and in respect of whom; and how can states best ensure compliance with these obligations? The introduction also provides a précis of each chapter and the themes explored therein. Additionally, it makes reference to the fact that UK armed forces doctrine and procedures in respect of recent armed conflicts will be used as examples to explore the issues under consideration in the book. The aim is also to proffer a view on where the current UK procedures do not comply with the state’s right to life obligations and how this can be rectified.


Author(s):  
Kubo Mačák

This chapter analyses the legal qualification of complex conflict situations that feature more than two conflict parties. It examines whether such situations qualify as a single internationalized armed conflict or a number of independent international and non-international armed conflicts. With this in mind, this chapter puts forward a model based on the retention of autonomy of the allied conflict parties. It argues that once the autonomy is foregone and replaced with a single use of force by the parties, the law of international armed conflict applies ‘globally’ to the situation at hand. However, until that moment, the situation should be seen as ‘mixed’; in other words, as a set of mutually independent conflict pairs.


Author(s):  
Kubo Mačák

This chapter analyses the practical application of the law of belligerent occupation in internationalized armed conflicts in its temporal, geographical, and personal dimensions. Firstly, from a temporal perspective, the law is shown to apply once one of the conflict parties consolidates its control over the enemy territory and substitutes its own authority for that of the displaced enemy. Secondly, the chapter assesses the geographical scope of the applicable law and draws specific guidelines for the determination of the territory subject to the law of occupation in various types of internationalized armed conflicts. Thirdly, the chapter endorses the allegiance-based approach to the designation of protected persons under the law of occupation and applies it to the reality of internationalized armed conflict. Overall, the chapter presents a workable toolkit for the application of the law of occupation to internationalized armed conflicts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (22) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
Mahfutt Mahfutt ◽  
Khairil Anwar ◽  
Billi Belladona Matindas

The position of the Military Court is a body that executes the judicial power in the circle of the Indonesian National Armed Forces to enforce the law and justice with due observance of the interest in the state defense and safety. The Military Court is authorized to try the crimes committed by someone who when committing such crime is a soldier of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, a member of a group or office or body or equal to a soldier pursuant to the Law and someone is not included in the said group as set forth in the Law Number 31 of 1997 on Military Court. Following the reform of 1988, the existence of the Military Court is developed by some activists and the public that observe the Military Court, insisting the Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia to revise Law Number 31 of 1997 on Military Court, with the focus point for a soldier of the Indonesian National Armed Forces who commits a general crime to be tried in the General Court with the reason that the Military Court practice is closed in nature, and another reason is the equalization of rights before the law. The method used in this research is the normative law research that is carried out to obtain the necessary data relating to the problem. The data used is secondary data consisting of primary law materials, secondary law materials, and tertiary law materials. In addition, primary data is also used as the support of the secondary data law materials. The data is analyzed by the qualitative juridical analysis method. The results of the research show that the Military Court is one of the mechanisms that are always tried to be maintained. The outcome from the research discovers that the role of the Martial Court in Indonesia remains effective, fair, and democratic to this date realistically marked by fair punishment within the jurisdiction offended, which corresponds to the need of TNI institution in the aspects of Culture, Benefit, Assurance, and Fairness. It is recommended that the RI Government continuously develop and improve the same by maintaining the role of the Martial Court in punishing criminal offenses committed by military members on the Martial Court system currently in force.


1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (163) ◽  
pp. 527-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danièle Bujard

The year 1974 marks the centennial of the International Declaration of Brussels on the Laws and Customs of War. This effort to codify the most important laws of war, undertaken on the initiative of Czar Alexander II of Russia, constituted a decisive stage in the development of the law of war. It is this event which the Committee for the Protection of Human Life in Armed Conflicts, under the patronage of the Belgian Government, proposes to commemorate by an international seminar on the theme “The Concept of International Armed Conflict—New Perspectives”, in December of this year.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 252-260
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Krzan

Abstract The present study analyses climate change from the perspective of the law of armed conflict. Climate may be both a victim and a means of warfare. Arguably, the existing normative framework is broad enough to allow for accommodating climate change. It cannot be denied that the environment is easily harmed, or at least jeopardized in times of armed conflicts. Despite the obvious lack of explicit references in the instruments of international humanitarian law, it may be argued that it is possible to fit climate change in. The accompanying analysis addresses the respective potential and the ensuing hurdles.


Author(s):  
Bothe Michael

This chapter focuses on rules of the law of neutrality concerning the protection of the victims of armed conflicts, which must be considered as part of international humanitarian law. ‘Neutrality’ describes the particular status, as defined by international law, of a state not party to an armed conflict. This status entails specific rights and duties in the relationship between the neutral and the belligerent states. On one hand, there is the right of the neutral state to remain apart from, and not to be adversely affected by, the conflict. On the other hand, there is the duty of non-participation and impartiality. The right not to be adversely affected means that the relationship between the neutral and belligerent States is governed by the law of peace, which is modified only in certain respects by the law of neutrality. In particular, the neutral State must tolerate certain controls in the area of maritime commerce. The duty of non-participation means, above all, that the state must abstain from supporting a party to the conflict. This duty not to support also means that the neutral state is under a duty not to allow one party to the conflict to use the resources of the neutral state against the will of the opponent.


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