Chinese Journal of International Law Advance Access originally published online on June 27, 2009
Chinese Journal of International Law 2009 8(2):347-373; doi:10.1093/chinesejil/jmp017
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved
Aerial Belligerency within a Humanitarian Rhetoric: Exploring the Theorizing of the Law of War/Terrorizing of Civilians' Rights Nexus
Correspondence: * University of Quebec at Montreal (Canada) (email: styvenson{at}hotmail.com)
Aerial belligerency, with respect to the law of war, is key to achieving the political objectives of a party to the conflict, and to convincing its adversary to accept conditions as negotiated solutions to a confrontation. However, a much more restrictive interpretation of humanitarian rights law during the planning of military air strikes in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ecuador, Gaza and Pakistan has demonstrated that civilian immunity is still a legal concern. This paper describes and analyses the modernity of aerial acts of belligerency conducted within a legal framework. In fact, most recent armed conflicts and hostilities bring to light the fact that aerial warfare is now an attractive option in international affairs. Airpower is used as a strategic weapon to elevate foreign policy over legal principles. Aerospace weaponry and surveillance systems exist to insure superiority over low-tech and like-minded resistance groups. The means and methods in aerial warfare will in fact present the next legal challenge of the twenty-first century.
I am indebted to a number of people and organizations that were integral to the completion of this article. I am especially grateful to the support of the staff at The Hague Academy Research Centre Library (Summer 2007) and to Professor Djamchid Momtaz for his critical comments. Foremost, I recognize the intellectual and moral support of Dr Louis Haeck, Mark Toufayan, Nicolaos Strapatsas, Rafael Gonzalez Richmond and Danio Campanelli for providing me with extensive critical insights. This paper was completed on 15 May 2009. The frequently used abbreviations include: IHL, International Humanitarian Law; LOAC, the Law of Armed Conflict.